Heavy snow swept through central and northern China yesterday, grounding aircraft, halting trains and causing icy conditions on expressways.

The winter's blast created misery for early bird travelers hoping to beat the upcoming travel rush for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Passengers stranded at airport terminals, railway stations and long-distance bus stations waited for conditions to improve.

The railway operator issued a warning early yesterday, saying that trains, including high-speed bullet trains, would be running at slower speeds for safety reasons in areas - mainly in northern and central China - affected by heavy snows.

Travelers were advised to check updated schedules.

Among services affected was the newly opened Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line - the world's longest high-speed rail line. The 2,298-kilometer link went into full operation on December 26. Other major routes, such as Shanghai-Beijing and Beijing-Tianjin, also suffered long delays and cancellations.

On the Beijing-Shanghai route, 16 bullet train services were canceled yesterday and more than 30 others suffered long delays, ranging from more than one to almost six hours. The line was scheduled to have 144 services running yesterday.

Trains to neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang also faced delays due to the weather.

"I chose the train over flying because I was concerned flights might be delayed because of the snow," said a passenger, surnamed Sun, stranded yesterday at Shanghai's Hongqiao Railway Station. "I never figured that the train would be delayed too."

Passengers vented their frustrations about the weather and delays on Weibo microblog.

"I couldn't get a ticket refund on the railway's online ticket system," complained one customer. Passengers were asked to go to railway stations for refunds.

Snow also affected 30 airports around the country, with planes grounded and passengers stranded. Some airports, such as Yanji in Jilin Province and Weifang in Shandong Province, were closed by the bad weather.

Frozen roads

Major air hubs, including Shanghai's two airports, reported delays. About 100 city flights were affected by yesterday afternoon.

Chinese basketball star Yi Jianlian posted on his Weibo account that he had been ready to fly to Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, but was delayed as Jinan airport was closed. The Guangdong Southern Tigers star thanked fans for their greetings and messages.

And the Beijing Ducks basketball team saw a four-hour road journey to northern Liaoning Province for a game take 10 hours.

Other areas, such as central Shandong Province, were affected by frozen roads.

The lead-up to the Spring Festival on February 10 will see tens of millions of people travel to their family homes in what has been called the world's biggest annual migration.

While the rush officially starts on January 26, some early bird travelers had been hoping to get home this weekend.

Meanwhile, Shanghai traffic authorities urged motorists to drive carefully, saying the wintry conditions will continue today.

Port operations were halted in Shanghai's Yangshan Deep-water Port yesterday due to strong winds at the mouth of Yangtze River.

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