Snowstorms Hit North China, Beijing Cancels 450 Flights

North China was hit by severe snowstorms over the weekend, causing travel chaos in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Inner Mongolia.Beijing Capital International Airport cancelled 150 flights on Saturday and 300 flights on Sunday, according to Sina, causing further delays today.Roads and rail were also affected with six highways running through Beijing closed and high-speed trains from the capital to Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin forced to operate at slower speeds.The severe weather is expected to continue this week, with a cold front from Siberia causing temperatures to plummet 5-10 C (9-18 F) below normal across much of northern China and 8-10 C (14-18 F) below normal in the capital, with high temperatures of -7 to -4 C (20-25 F) in Beijing from Tuesday through Friday, according to AccuWeather.com.By Wednesday, that frigid air will hit Shanghai, bringing the mercury down to a bracing 2 C (35 F) and potentially below freezing on Thursday.

One upside to the snow, it sure did look pretty.

[Photos via Sina, NBC, Xinhua, Shanghai Daily]