Thick fog and heavy snow blanketed areas of north China Tuesday, forcing sections of several expressways to close temporarily.

All 12 expressways in Liaoning Province were closed after snow began to fall Monday.

Cars snarled the congested roads after snow stuck to the ground and made the driving difficult in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning.

"It took me three times longer than usual to reach my office," said a man driving to work.

Many people who usually travel by car turned to public transport after they woke to find snowfall had whitened the city, making it hard to find an unoccupied taxi in rush hour, a rare scenario in the city.

The local Shenyang Central Meteorological Observatory has issued four straight snowstorm warning signals.

Visibility on roads was reduced to less than 500 meters in most of Hebei Province, which has been shrouded in thick fog since Monday. Thick fog forced the closure of a number of expressways in the province.

It is expected that most parts of Hebei will be affected in the next two to three days.

East China's Shandong province and southern Guangdong province also reported thick fog Tuesday, causing traffic jams on major roads.

(Xinhua News Agency, December 11, 2007)