Shanghai Daily news

Mail and newspapers are still being delivered in the city though mail delivery to other provinces has been affected by the snow.

Mail to Hunan, Hubei, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces is delayed because roads and expressways have been closed, according to the EMS & International Mail Office of Shanghai Post Office.

"Express delivery services to the southern cities or provinces has been seriously affected by the snow. Because such severe weather is rare in the south, the emergency measures to cope with it are not as adequate as those in the northeast,'' said an official named Chen in the office.

Chen said the Post Office paid close attention to the weather every day, to organize mail vans according to the road conditions in other provinces.

"However, the expressway to Hunan Province has been choked with slow moving vehicles for three days, and several highways linking Shanghai and neighboring provinces have been closed because of the heavy snow,'' Chen said. He said postal services using expressways could not avoid being affected and might not reach their destinations in the usual time.

Express delivery services based on railway lines are unpredictable as the nation heads into a major holiday period.As there will be many delays caused by bad weather, Shanghai Post is encouraging customers to track the status of their parcels from departure to destination at no extra charge. The information is available on the post office's Website - http://www.ems.com.cn.