Continuous heavy snowfall in a border county of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has disrupted traffic on the trans-border highway linking China and Nepal, affecting trade between the two countries, the local government said on Thursday.

 

The snowstorm, the ninth in the past 40 days, began to coat Nyalam County on the China-Nepal border on Monday, the regional meteorological bureau said.

 

The county had received 15 millimeters of snowfall by Wednesday and the snow drift measured an average 38 cm.

 

The snow has disrupted traffic on the Nyalam section of state highway No. 318 that connects Tibet with Shanghai in the industrial east and extends into Nepal.

 

"Trade with Nepal was also affected, with many truckloads of commodities stranded on the highway," said Soi'nam, deputy head of the county.

 

Many trucks from China's inland areas have been held up north of Nyalam county over the past three days, while long lines of vehicles from Nepal were at a standstill in Zham town on the border, he said.

 

The snow weakened on Thursday but traffic is yet to resume, he said.

 

Nyalam in Xigaze is Tibet's largest land port and handles 82 percent of total trade between China and Nepal.

 

The county has suffered nine snowstorms in the past 40 days. After the heaviest snow of the year hit the area on March 1, the snow drift measured 69 cm.

 

Soi'nam said the snow had also affected farming and livestock breeding, but no deaths have been reported. "The snow on most county roads is knee-deep, but people are still going to work and students have been back at school for the spring semester since March 1."

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2007)