Cold snap brings joy, trouble to south China

HANGZHOU, Jan. 25, 2016 -- Photo taken on Jan 25. 2016 shows the frozen West Lake in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. A strong cold wave hit many areas of Zhejiang, causing low temperature in those areas. (Xinhua/Han Chuanhao)

GUANGZHOU, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Many in south China shivered over the weekend as a cold snap broke decades-old records and snow fell in some cities for the first time in years.

Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, was hit by its first snow in about five decades over the weekend.

Winter weather enthusiasts documented the snow on messaging app Wechat, with one caption describing it as "a snow that previously existed only in textbooks."

"Historical moment," the post said.

Pictures circulating on Chinese social media showed citizens crowded around small snowmen, taking photos with their mobile phones.

A weather monitoring tower coated with frost on Jiuxian Mountain in southeast China's Fujian Province attracted visitors, with admirers calling it a "tower of ice magic."

Wu Weiqiang, a professor at the college of public administration at Zhejiang University, saw people's excitement over the freezing weather as a good thing. "We need optimism in our lives, especially when faced with frustration and difficulties."

But the winter wonderland was not free of tragedy.

A woman in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality died after falling from the 24th floor as she watched the snow -- the first since 1996 -- from her balcony on Saturday, local police confirmed Sunday.

Her death was caused when the rails on her balcony, which were rusty and decayed, suddenly broke, according to the police.

The rare snow also suspended flights and affected power supply in southwest China's Yunnan Province starting Saturday afternoon. Flights at the Kunming airport did not resume until Monday morning.

Power supply to 79,796 households in the province was cut off during the weekend. As of Monday afternoon, the power supply for 40,118 households had still not been restored, according to the Yunnan Power Grid Company.

In neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the fisheries department had seen a loss of 54 tonnes of product as of Sunday.

The region, home to various tropical fruits, including bananas, mangoes, and pitayas, has also seen losses from damaged crops, according to the regional agricultural department.