This photo taken on Dec. 11, 2023 shows the snow scenery of the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China.(Photo: Xinhua)

Beijing has decided to suspend operations in mountainous scenic areas, in addition to outdoor large-scale amusement facilities in non-mountainous scenic areas, according to media reports on Wednesday, after the capital city issued an orange alert for blizzards on Tuesday night.

According to the weather forecast, the city is expected to see heavy snow from Wednesday to Friday morning. The heaviest period of the snowfall will be from 10 am to 8 pm on Wednesday, with snowfall amounts in multiple areas of Beijing expected to exceed 10 millimeters.

In response, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism published an urgent notice on Wednesday stating that mountainous scenic areas would suspend operations, so as the outdoor large-scale amusement facilities in non-mountainous scenic areas. Relevant scenic spots are urged to release closure information through their official websites, WeChat accounts and other means, the notice said.

The notice also clarified that all travel agencies in the city should adjust their itinerary arrangements in a timely manner to avoid arranging travels to mountainous scenic areas and refrain from driving on mountain roads at night, in order to ensure the safety of tourists.

Besides, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced that starting from Wednesday, all primary and secondary schools, kindergartens and secondary vocational schools in the city would temporarily move to online classes. The specific time for resuming classes on campus will be notified after the city's unified deployment.

Additionally, the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau issued several response measures, advocating for employees of enterprises and institutions to stagger their work hours.

The bureau also suggested citizens to use public transportation as much as possible and to avoid unnecessary trips to the mountains, as well as stay away from areas with accumulated snow, such as walls, old trees and signboards.

The local government called residents to closely monitor and promptly remove snow from roofs of various venues such as gymnasiums, large-span buildings, greenhouses, temporary structures and dilapidated houses to prevent collapses.

According to the emergency management bureau, relevant departments should carry out snow removal and ice clearing, deal with emergencies promptly, strengthen traffic organization and guidance and ensure the safe operation of water, electricity, gas and heating.

Global Times