Clearing the snow

Sanitation and maintenance workers have been working overtime to remove snow and sleet from Beijing's streets and repair the damage inflicted by the elements.

"All street cleaners have been ordered to work today (Sunday), even those who should be on leave," Wang Guilin, 47, who was working in Beijing's Chaoyang district. "We started at 6 am, and we're only given half an hour for lunch.

A sanitation worker shovels snow near the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing on Sunday. Cui Meng / China Daily

Strong winds during Sunday snowstorm broke branches from trees around Beijing. Wei Xiaohao / China Daily

"We used the snow-melting agent to make a narrow way for people to walk. Now we are clearing the snow."

Wang's 52-year-old colleague, who gave his name only as Zhou, said: "I've been trying to put the snow into the sewer or around trees all morning. My shoes are soaked through and through."

Many broken tree branches and utility poles also need to be cleared away.

The bad weather is hitting residents' wallets. Lei Meng, a vegetable seller at Anzhenli community in Chaoyang district, confirmed reports that prices had risen slightly over the weekend.

"My vegetables arrived about two hours late today, and the price of some had gone up by 1 yuan ($0.16)."

One bright side to the cold front is that many cities in North China have decided to switch on their heating systems earlier than usual.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment fired up its boilers on Sunday instead of waiting until Nov 15, as it usually does. And Shenyang, Liaoning province, and Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, started theirs last week.

Contact the writers at tanzongyang@chinadaily.com.cn and jinhaixing@chinadaily.com.cn

Hou Liqiang and Zhao Xinying contributed to this story.