A lasting wave of cold weather has killed at least six people in northern and eastern China, DPA reported.
A boy froze to death after getting lost in a snowstorm on the way to school, the China Daily reported on Thursday.
In the Xinjiang autonomous region in the north-west of the country three people have died in avalanches since last week and one man froze to death on the way home after visiting a pub .
A homeless man in Beijing also died due to the cold.
Heavy snow storms hit the eastern province of Shandong. In the city of Weihai street cleaners were struggling to remove large quantities of snow. The sea off Shandong froze over more than at any time in the last 30 years.
Boats were stuck on the ice in Yantai city. Seals were also marooned but conservationists broke the ice and fed the roughly 60 animals that live in the area.