Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai's two international airports today had delayed more than 500 flights and canceled 13 by noon as heavy snow hit the city since yesterday afternoon, leaving a large number of passengers stranded.

The Pudong Airport had to halt landings by 12am today due to lack of gate positions.

The city's another airport, Hongqiao, and airports in nearby cities including Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, Changsha in Huanan Province and Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province have also restricted flights.

These airports were running short of gate positions as it took some time to de-ice the planes that had landed earlier, the country's civil aviation authority announced today.

Airports in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province and Nanchang, Jiangxi Province have suspended service due to snow and ice on the runways, according to the Central Administration of Civil Aviation.

The airport in Hefei, Anhui Province, was able to resume service after being closed in the morning, the administration said.

The snow and sleet that affected China's southern regions was expected to taper off late on this night, the Central Meteorological Station forecast this morning.

But the outlook was less favorable in eastern and southern China, where heavy snow -- the worst in decades -- could last until Feburary 8 or 9, according to the latest weather forecasts.

The severe weather had so far killed at least 60 people, authorities said, and left many millions facing a cold, dark Lunar New Year holiday.