Snow came to Shanghai Sunday night for the first time this winter.

If there was any doubt about its novelty, this was dispelled when the 38th-floor Shanghai Daily newsroom emptied about 10 PM as staff rushed to the lifts and outside to check out the falling flakes.

These pictures were snapped in downtown Shanghai at 9:40 PM on Sunday.

The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said Sunday that more icy weather is on the way this week.

The minimum temperature Monday is forecast to be two degrees Celsius, falling to minus one over the following two days.

The city received a taste of what was to come Sunday morning when Chongming County had a temperature of 2.6 degrees and it was four degrees in Xujiahui area. Both areas and Qingpu District encountered rain and ice, the bureau said.

The cold snap does have a bright side as it has ended the fog that engulfed the city last week, causing major delays in road, water and air traffic.

(Shanghai Daily January 14, 2008)