Policemen from Yangma Island Frontier Police Station help sea cucumber farmers to break ice in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province, on Jan. 20, 2016.Continuous temperature-dropping and snowing weather accelerated the expansion of sea ice in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. Part of inshore cultivation area was frozen. [Photo: xinhua]

People in China are experiencing the coldest week of the winter of 2016 so far, as a blast of icy air sweeps in from the north and west.

Meteorological authorities have forecast temperatures to get even colder.

China's National Meteorological Center has announced a blue alert for snow storms that will sweep southern China in the coming days.

Temperatures could drop by 14 degrees Celsius, with some cities in the south to see record low temperatures.

Snow and rain has hit southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

A lot of residents were attracted by the rarely seen snow-covered scenery, as temperatures cross most of the city dipped below freezing. They climbed the mountains, made snowman, or waged snowball fights with their friends and families.

"Today I came here with my mom to make snowman and have snowball fights, it is fun!"

It is expected that the city may experience its coldest day of this winter on Sunday.

Schools in Hunan Province's capital Changsha have been told to start winter holiday three days early.

Education authorities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, have also allowed students to stay home from school.

Agricultural authorities in Hunan have warned farmers to add organic fertilizers to keep crops and vegetables from being damaged.

Experts warned that the low temperature caused by the heavy snow will influence the traffic and electric systems in some regions.

Northern China has already experienced record low temperatures in some areas.

In Jilin province the temperatures have dipped below minus 20 degree Celsius.

Taxi drivers working in Hunchun city have been dealing with difficult conditions.

"I have to stop and wipe the windows of my car every now and then after driving for a while, or I can see things nothing . "

"I can't see the road at all . And the wind is just too strong. "

In Beijing, daytime highs are expected to be below zero on Thursday.

An unnamed local says she has been confused by previous forecast of a warm winter, while in effect it's been extremely cold.

"It's been so cold this week, I'm really frozen. It's been reported that the El Nino effect is strong, should be warm this winter. So why does if feel even colder than last year?"

On Friday the temperature in Beijing is forecast to dip to a 10 year low, dropping to minus sixteen degree Celsius.

Zhu Dingzhen with China Meteorological Administration says the cold snap doesn't change the overall trend toward warmer winters.

"Climate is the average condition of the weather. The change in temperatures following a cold front can not represent the whole year. From a wholesale point of view, and looking at the weather from last year, China saw an average temperature in 2015 that was nearly 1 degree Celsius higher than the average. This means the trend of global warming and warmer winter weather will continue in China."

Experts have warned people of dangerous driving conditions and have also told people to take measures to protect their health during the cold snap.