Rare Snow Falls on Southwest China's "Spring City" 　　Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, saw a rare heavy snowfall January 11 that soon coated this renowned "Spring City" in white. 　　Excited local residents flocked out amid the large snowflakes to enjoy the rare scene of snow-covered roads and buildings, while joyful children cheered and played in the streets, braving the zero degrees Celsius temperature. 　　"This is the largest snowfall in Kunming since 1983, and there are only seven or eight snowfalls in the city's historical records," said an official with the local meteorological bureau. 　　The snowfall began at 8 pm on Sunday evening, beginning as sleet. Big flakes started to fall at 5 am January 11 and hadn't stopped by press time. Local weather reports said that by eight o'clock yesterday morning, total precipitation in the Kunming region had exceeded 15.1 millimeters. 　　As the snow piled up to three centimeters on the runways and the whirling flakes reduced the visibility to a dangerous level, the Kunming Airport had to cancel 22 domestic flights and ask 9 flights due at Kunming before 8 am January 11 to land at other airports. 　　Airport authorities said there are now some 900 domestic and foreign passengers stranded at the airport. 　　However, traffic police said the snowfall caused little trouble for urban traffic, with no reports of traffic jams or accidents. 　　Kunming has earned the reputation as China's "Spring City" with its year-round mild climate and an average annual temperature of 14.5 degrees Celsius. 　　Local meteorologists believe that the snowfall was mainly caused by the convergence of a cold air current from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and a warm and damp air current from the Bay of Bengal. 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 HomeNews 1999-01-12 Page4 Full Story in Chinese