Wind carrying sand particles hit this Chinese capital Thursday, according to the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Observatory.

This is the first sandy breeze in Beijing this spring, and it brought less sand than in previous years, as a result of the growing area planted with trees and grass in Beijing.

The sand came mainly from construction sites, but was also partly a result of Beijing's lasting drought this winter.

The capital has received no precipitation since the middle of December 2001, cutting its total winter precipitation by 80 percent from that in the previous winter.

(People's Daily March 15, 2002)