A strong cold spell has hit northern China. Over the past two days, Liaoning Province and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region have experienced heavy snow falls, while Hebei and Shandong provinces have seen their first snow of the winter.

After the cold spell hit Liaoning Friday, the province saw its second snowfall Monday, The extreme weather shut 18 highways but they have now begun to reopen. Extreme cold is also being felt in northeastern part of Inner Mongolia, with temperatures in Genhe City falling to minus 45 degrees Celsius.

In the next two days, temperatures in various parts of the north and northeast will continue to fall by up to 6 degrees Celsius. Bingzhou, Dezhou and Zibo in Shandong Province also saw their first snowfall of the year but it soon melted. The weather is expected to ease the region's drought.