Beijing launched emergency traffic measures to deal with the heavy snow that began falling Tuesday morning and blanketed the city, according to an official with the Beijing traffic management bureau.

The snow, the first in the Year of Rooster according to Chinese lunar calendar, expanded from western to eastern part of Beijing from the early morning.

Tianjin section of the Beijing-Taijin-Tanggu expressway and Beijing-Shijiazhuang expressway were closed due to the heavy snow.

Tuesday is the last day of the Spring Festival holiday (from Feb. 9 to Feb. 15). People who spent the holiday outside Beijing have been flocking back.

Local traffic departments used 550 tons of snow-melting agents on the road and sent out 269 vehicles to clear the snow. Backup systems were also started for bus and rail traffic.

According to Beijing Meteorological Station, the snow would stop Tuesday evening, and the temperature is forecast to drop steadily to reach -2 to -9 degrees Celsius this week.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2005)