Hail, convective weather batter Chinese cities

Severe convective weather, accompanied by hail and torrential downpours, struck multiple places in China's Shaanxi and Hebei provinces on Sunday.

In Qingjian County, Yulin City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, hailstones of various sizes pelted down on roads during the afternoon hours.

The local meteorological observatory reported that between 14:00 and 16:00 on Sunday, rainfall was recorded across three counties and 13 meteorological monitoring stations in Yulin.

Meanwhile, in Handan City of north China's Hebei Province, hail and intense thunderstorms hit several townships on Sunday evening.

In Xilyuying Township, one of the affected areas, footage captured by residents showed dense hail -- some stones as large as eggs -- pounding down amid heavy rain.

Direct flights operated by Spring Airlines between Taiwan's Kaohsiung and Ningbo of Zhejiang Province resumed on Saturday, marking the latest restoration of cross-Strait air services. This route will operate twice a week, with flights scheduled every Tuesday and Saturday.

Spring Airlines said passengers traveling between the two cities previously had to make transfers, with one-way journeys usually taking more than five hours. With the resumption of direct flights, travel time has been shortened to around two hours, greatly improving travel efficiency.

Several mainland airlines have recently resumed direct cross-Strait routes. China Eastern Airlines resumed direct flights between Taichung and Chengdu on July 1, while Shandong Airlines is expected to resume direct flights between Taichung and Qingdao on July 23.

China Eastern said the first resumed flight from Taichung to Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province, had carried 163 passengers. Local tourism operators said that, thanks to the restoration of direct flights, bookings for tours from Taichung to Sichuan are already extended several months ahead.

On April 12, the Chinese mainland rolled out a package of 10 policies and measures, spanning inter-party communication, infrastructure, travel, trade and culture, aimed at boosting exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan.