Local authorities in Liaoning Province in the northeast and Shanxi Province in the north swiftly reacted to clear snow and ice after heavy snow disrupted road traffic on Friday.
In Shenyang, provincial capital of Liaoning, the first snow of 2026 began to fall at 17:00 on Friday. As of early Saturday, average snow accumulation in the city reached about 3.4 millimeters deep. Road maintenance workers were dispatched immediately, with snowplows working through the night to clear major roads.
To minimize disruption, the Shenyang snow removal command issued a yellow alert for heavy snow on Friday afternoon. Manpower and machines were deployed to clear snow. As of Saturday morning, the snow had stopped in Shenyang, and traffic on main roads and bridges was back to normal.
In Shanxi Province, strong winds and snow affected areas including Datong and Shuozhou on Friday afternoon, causing snow accumulation on several expressway sections.
Local transport departments carried out de-icing operations and increased road patrols to remind drivers to travel safely. Some heavily snow-covered road sections were temporarily closed.
As of 10:00 Saturday, several expressway entrances in Shanxi remained closed to certain types of vehicles, including vans with more than seven seats and trucks carrying hazardous materials.
Snow disrupts traffic in Liaoning, Shanxi
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
