Heavy snow sweeps China’s northern regions, prompting emergency measures

A cold wave has swept across northern parts of China this week, bringing snowy and foggy conditions and prompting local authorities to activate emergency plans to ensure public safety and maintain critical heating and transport services.

On Friday, dense fog and snowfall blanketed Shuangjingzi Township in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, leaving stretches of the G7 Beijing–Xinjiang Expressway slick, sharply reducing visibility, and forcing traffic to crawl. Local police stepped up patrols, accelerated safety checks, assisted drivers in checking anti-skid chains and heaters, and guided those unable to proceed safely into nearby parking areas.

Heavy snow also blocked several transport routes in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. As of noon on Friday, the heaviest snowfall was recorded in Xing’an Town, Arun Banner, with a cumulative total of 12.6 millimeters.

Local sanitation and urban management departments promptly began snow removal efforts to ensure safe and smooth travel for residents.

"Our company deployed over 400 personnel and 32 heavy-duty snowplows for the cleanup," Zhang Yongping, leader of the local snow removal team, said.

Ergun City in northeastern Inner Mongolia also experienced snowfall, with maximum snowfall reaching 5.8 millimeters.

Agricultural technicians provided on-site guidance to herders on reinforcing livestock sheds, laying insulation materials, and checking for safety hazards in older structures. Thanks to these efforts, local livestock production has remained stable and orderly amid the cold wave.

Hegang City in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province also experienced widespread snowfall. As of 19:00 Friday, snowfall had been recorded at 15 monitoring stations across the city, with Luobei County receiving the heaviest snowfall, reaching moderate to heavy levels in some areas.

The local urban management department responded swiftly, mobilizing large-scale snow removal machinery and personnel to clear snow and ice from streets.

According to the local meteorological department, the snowfall in Hegang has ended.

Heavy snow sweeps China’s northern regions, prompting emergency measures

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting