New | Cold wave across China puts mainlanders’ Lunar New Year travel plans on ice
Trains, planes and ferries affected as temperatures dip across the country; 36 deaths reported in Taiwan amid the chill
Dozens of highways were shut, flights delayed or cancelled and ferry services suspended on Sunday as an extreme cold wave swept across China, disrupting many mainlanders’ plans on the first day of the Lunar New Year travel season.
The cold wave also wrought havoc in Taiwan, where 36 deaths were reported after temperatures fell to 4 degrees Celsius in most parts of the island’s north, Central News Agency reported.
Watch: China and Hong Kong shiver from cold spell
It snowed in Pinglin, Shiding, Wulai, Xindian and Xizhi districts in New Taipei, Lalashan in Taoyuan, and Yangmingshan National Park and Chinese Cultural University in Taipei’s Shilin district.
READ MORE: Snow and extreme cold set to hit southern China as ‘bossy cold wave’ moves towards Guangdong
Sunday was the first day of the 40-day Lunar New Year travel season, during which the mainland’s transport system will carry an estimated 2.91 billion passengers – up 3.6 per cent from last year – as people return to their hometowns or holiday elsewhere to celebrate the Lunar New Year.