China battles 'coldest winter in 100 years'

Millions remained stranded in China on Monday ahead of the biggest holiday of the year as parts of the country suffered their coldest winter in a century.

Freezing storms have killed scores of people and left travellers stranded before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival - the only opportunity many people have to take a holiday all year.

They have also brought China unwanted negative publicity six months before the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

President Hu Jintao chaired an emergency Politburo meeting on Sunday for the second time in a week to discuss rescue efforts.

"We have to be clear-minded that the inclement weather and severe disaster will continue to plague certain regions in the south," said a statement issued after Sunday's meeting. "Relief work will continue to face challenges, posing a tough task."

The China Meteorological Administration said the weather was the coldest in 100 years in central Hubei and Hunan provinces, going by the total number of consecutive days of average temperature less than 1 degree Celsius (33.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

But it expected brighter weather ahead.

"The weather over the disaster-stricken regions is likely to turn better in the next several days, but it is still necessary to remain alert for possible low temperatures, frozen rain, snow, freezing and heavy fog," it said in a statement.

Four people died after a snow-laden roof collapsed at a fuel station in the eastern city of Nanjing on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said. One person was killed in a stampede at Guangzhou railway station in the south as people rushed to board trains.

Roads and railways, some of which have been blocked for days, have started to move again, and fewer flights were being cancelled, state media said, offering a glimmer of hope.

But some areas were also blanketed by fog, and more snow, rain and sleet was expected later on Monday.

In China's commercial capital of Shanghai, 795,000 people left by train on Saturday alone, and a further 110,000 left by road on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said.

CAJOLED TO SKIP HOLIDAY

Authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou said their priority was to clear the backlog of travellers, having cajoled millions of migrant workers to stay put and skip the holiday.

Elsewhere, efforts turned to restoring power and water, which some cities, like Chenzhou in the south, have been without for more than a week, causing some to question China's ability to handle emergencies months before Beijing holds the Olympics.

"Without power the only information we have been getting is by SMS from the government," said Chenzhou resident Zheng Ninghong, tending a fruit stall amid the slush.

"There was one, I think, that said it would get warmer, but what we need is electricity."

China has largely avoided unrest throughout the crisis, in part due to hundreds of thousands of soldiers and paramilitary police that have been deployed around the country to help with disaster relief and crowd control.

But Web posts showed signs of mounting frustration.

"Sanllyzhao" wrote from Bijie in the poor southern province of Guizhou, to describe the "true situation" down there, which included having no water or power supplies for the last two weeks and being ignored by the authorities.

"Please wake up Guizhou government!" the post ends.

Mobilising the might of the state, China has deployed more than 300,000 troops and nearly 1.1 million militia and army reservists to get traffic moving and ensure power supplies.

Pictures from Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei and lying at the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers, showed cars blanketed not by snow, but by ice. Riverside barriers and trees were draped in huge icicles.

The China Daily quoted Li Pumin, spokesman for top planning body the National Development and Reform Commission, as saying power plants in Beijing and Shanghai had only enough coal for less than seven days.

"But top economic planners said the country had reversed a sharp decline in coal reserves. There was enough coal on Saturday to generate electricity for the entire country for the next eight days," the newspaper added.