Fresh snow covers the the Palace Museum l on Sunday, attracting a significant number of visitors who love snow scenery.[Photo/IC]

Beijing embraced a heavy snowfall Sunday,a day that also marked the beginning of this year's 20th solar term, Minor Snow, referring to the time when it starts to snow, mostly in China's northern areas. Although the temperature dropped below zero Celsius, people still flocked to the city's landmark attractions to appreciate the snowy scenery.

The Palace Museum, or Forbidden City, enjoyed a tourist peak with the number of visitors reaching over 30,000 before midday, which is approximately equivalent to the number of daily visitors in the off season.

Visitors were waiting in line even before the Palace Museum opened its doors. At 11 am, the queue in front of each of the 20 ticket windows was over 60 meters long. "I've seen photos online, it is said that the Forbidden City is very beautiful on a snowy day", one of the visitors said.

Staff members at the ticket office told the media that the Palace Museum is in the off-peak season at this time of the year, but the heavy snowfall created a small spike in admissions for the scenic spot.