Some 22 flights were postponed on Thursday in Kunming, capital city of southwestern Yunnan Province, due to continuous snow since Wednesday.

The 22 flights at Kunming International Airport, scheduled before 10:00 AM, were postponed because of ice formed on bodies of the planes. The planes took off later after the ice was removed by airport staff.

By 3:00 PM, flights at the airport returned to normal.

The snow also affected urban and long-distance highway traffic, forcing people to take trains for business trips or for weekend tours outside Kunming.

Snow is piled 15 centimeters deep in downtown Kunming, and up to 20 centimeters on the outskirts. The snow is said to be the heaviest since 1983.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)