Surprise Snowstorm Turns Beijing Into Winter Wonderland
Beijing was hit with a rare snowstorm last weekend.
— -- The arid winters in Beijing have a reputation of being very cold but relatively light on snow. When Beijing put in its winning bid for the 2022 Winter Games, many of its promotional videos had to feature computer-generated snowscapes.
So it was a surprise this past weekend when Beijing's residents woke up to a winter wonderland. A rare, early snowstorm had blanketed the Chinese capital.
ABC News’ Bob Woodruff took a ride to the Forbidden City to see how his neighbors were coping with the heavy snowfall.
Out of town tourists shielded the falling snow with umbrellas while some workers had to shovel with what they could find, including brooms and dustpans.
Beijing International Airport, China’s busiest, cancelled over 300 flights Sunday and closed its runways to inbound flights.
Beijing authorities mobilized 40,000 people to help clear the roads for traffic.
All this is a just warm-up for a deep freeze expected in Beijing this week, with temperatures expected to drop to the single digits.