Snow blanketed this capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region Feb. 15 morning, an unusual sight for February that local people called an auspicious greeting for the upcoming Tibetan New Year.

"It snows a lot in Lhasa. It's a good sign for the coming new year," said Purbu, who was taking pictures of his son on the square before the Potala Palace.

Tibetans will celebrate the New Year on Feb. 21, welcoming in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey, according to the Tibetan calendar.

Starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, Lhasa's largest snow this winter began to fall on the city, in one hour covering up buildings, trees and roads.

Jubilant citizens took to streets and parks to have a look at the unseasonable snow. It was not common to snow in the daytime in Lhasa in mid February, according to Hu Chuyang, head of the forecast department of the weather bureau of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

A woman surnamed Li, providing charged photo services on the Potala Square, said her business was extraordinarily good in the morning, and many people were asking her services. "It would have been better though to have more snow (to promote my business)," Li said.

Hu said snow was helpful to clean the air and increase soil moisture content, a vital condition for spring plowing. Local police said snow did not affect flights leaving or arriving in the city.

(China Daily February 16, 2004)