Heavy snow has troubled most of northeast China's Liaoning Province since Saturday night, causing a major airport and expressways to close.

According to the provincial expressway administration, major roads have been closed since 5:00 AM on Sunday. But the expressway from Shenyang, the provincial capital, to Dalian, an open coastal city, and a section of the Shenyang-Dandong expressway are still open to traffic. Thanks to the timely closure, no road accidents due to the snow have been reported, the administration added.

Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang also closed on Sunday morning. The snow has resulted in poor visibility, local sources said.

It is the heaviest snowfall in Liaoning since the beginning of winter, which interrupted a run of continuous warm weather, local meteorologists said.

A total of 7,000 environmental sanitation workers have been dispatched to remove the thick layer of snow on Shenyang's major streets.

Jilin Province, adjacent to Liaoning, has also been covered by heavy snow since the early hours of Sunday.

The provincial meteorological bureau gave three warning signals for heavy and extremely heavy snowfall, and forecast for them to continue into Monday.

Since 8:00 AM on Sunday, the airport of the provincial capital, Changchun, has been closed, together with the expressway linking the city to Shenyang.

Major streets in Changchun are now blanketed with ice and snow, which has slowed traffic, local sources said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2004)