Blizzards to sweep half the country

Snow and rain to hit 23 regions; Beijing's dry spell to continue

This winter's heaviest bout of snow and rainfall began sweeping 23 provincial-level regions - half of the country's territory - on Tuesday and will continue until Thursday, according to official forecasts.

The cold snap started to affect northwestern provinces such as Shaanxi on Tuesday and is expected to head southeast to central and eastern regions, with the heaviest snow set for Wednesday, the National Meteorological Center said.