Guangzhou-Beijing services resume after five days but weather still threatens
As train services on the Guangzhou-Beijing railway route finally resumed on Wednesday after being paralysed for five days, hundreds of thousands of travellers who had lost hope of returning home for the Lunar New Year finally saw a glimmer of light.
But local authorities, trying to put on a brave face, especially after Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the station on the same day, knew full well there was one thing they could not control - the weather.
The Central Weather Bureau says in its latest weather forecast that the heavy snow and rain are expected to hit the southern part of the mainland again in the next few days.
Any repeat of the severe weather - which has already affected more than 2.48 million people and caused economic losses of more than 1 billion yuan in Guangdong - could have unimaginable consequences.
Guangdong relies heavily on neighbouring provinces for food and energy. Reports have suggested coal supplies at power stations in the province are down to reserves of only two days.