Cold waves bring stunning snow, rime scenery across China

Snow and rime have created dreamy winter scenes in multiple regions across China during a recent cold wave, with stunning white mountains and frost-covered vegetation captivating outdoor tourists keen to experience the seasonal spectacle of nature.

In Lushan County, central China's Henan Province, once-green Yaoshan Mountain turned into a silver-white landscape on Monday due to continuous rainfall and dropping temperatures.

Mount Tai in east China's Shandong Province also saw frosty coverage as temperatures plunged below zero. The mountaintop was covered in a white haze, while the peaks and valleys seemed draped in pristine white attire, adding a touch of softness to the mountain's majestic grandeur.

Affected by the cold air, north China's Shanxi Province has recently experienced continuous precipitation and temperature drops, with the maximum temperature in Taiyuan, the provincial capital, falling to 7 degrees Celsius, a drop of about 10 degrees Celsius compared to last week. In response, Taiyuan began providing heating service on Monday, 13 days ahead of schedule.

The sudden temperature drop has also led to dense fog in the province. On Monday morning, heavy fog occurred in parts of Lyuliang City, reducing visibility on expressways to as low as 200 meters. Temporary traffic controls were implemented at six expressway toll stations in Lyuliang.

In Mohe, China's northernmost city, the minimum temperature fell to minus 25 degrees Celsius. The Mohe section of the Heilongjiang River, which forms the border between China and Russia, has entered the floating ice period. By late November, this section is expected to freeze completely.

The recent drop in temperatures has also coated Xitu Mountain, at an elevation of 1,189.6 meters in Jiaohe City, northeast China's Jilin Province, with crystalline ice, dressing pine branches, shrubs, and even rocks in a silvery-white layer.

From Sunday to Monday, record-breaking low temperatures for the second half of this year were recorded in 15 regions across China, among which Shenyang City in northeast China's Liaoning Province and Yinchuan City in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region saw below zero degrees Celsius for the first time this year, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Cold waves bring stunning snow, rime scenery across China

Cold waves bring stunning snow, rime scenery across China

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar