HAIKOU, Feb. 22 -- Rain and falling temperatures since Thursday afternoon have brought more worries to passengers stranded by heavy fog in south China's Hainan Province.
A prolonged heavy fog has disrupted ferry services on the Qiongzhou Strait, a major gateway to the island province, affecting tens of thousand of passengers, with many of them heading back home after spending their Spring Festival holiday on the island.
According to the government of the provincial capital of Haikou, as of 4 p.m. on Thursday, more than 14,000 cars were still waiting at the city's three ports, with some having already been stranded for over 14 hours.
The number increased from the morning as more cars joined the queues to leave Hainan for Guangdong Province via the strait.
Huang Maocai waited in a queue stretching about one kilometer with his truck loaded with peppers, which he was attempting to transport and sell in markets in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.
"I arrived here yesterday afternoon at about 2 p.m. The rain will obviously make the traffic worse. Maybe I will have to wait until tomorrow morning to get on a boat," he said, adding he is afraid that the delay will affect the quality of the peppers.
A passenger surnamed Hu, from Nanjing City, was on holiday with her family in Hainan. Now the family is waiting to get across the strait. "It's getting colder now, and I'm afraid that my kid could catch a cold," she said.
The civil affairs department of Haikou set up four new rescue stations to cope with the rain and cold. A total of ten tents, 300 raincoats and 1,600 quilts were sent to the stations.
"The need for hot water increases as the weather gets colder. We are supplying more hot water to passengers, and some companies have been voluntarily sending hot steamed buns and food to them," said Li Yonghua, official with the department.
Ferry services on the strait resumed on Thursday morning on the Qiongzhou Strait after being suspended Wednesday night. However, the ferries are travelling slowly due to low visibility.
A freighter and a passenger ship collided off the coast of Guangdong at about 12:46 a.m. on Thursday. The freighter sank and two people are missing. Rescue work is under way.
"We are working with the city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong to ensure the shipping route operates normally," said Gu Gang, executive vice mayor of Haikou.
Hainan, known for its tropical climate and clean air, is a popular destination for Chinese tourists on winter holiday.
"It's the first time my family has travelled during the Spring Festival holiday. It's also an unexpected experience," said Fu Yingying, from Chongqing Municipality, who drove with her family to Hainan.
The family of six left Wenchang and arrived at Haikou on Wednesday afternoon. They have been waiting in the long queue outside a port.
"Luckily, volunteers offered us water and food. Without them, it would have been very hard to get through last night," Fu said.
Volunteer Ma Suying told Xinhua that she can understand the irritable moods of some passengers. "But most stranded passengers are calm and polite," she said.
Haikou set up over 200 volunteer service areas for travelling families between Sunday and Thursday morning. Over 6,500 volunteers have offered help.
The Haikou city government advised vehicles heading to the ports to delay their plans. It also issued a notice Wednesday night, asking residents to take Thursday, the first working day after the Spring Festival holiday, off to alleviate traffic jams caused by the waiting vehicles.
纵横古今:兵家三十六计的英文表达
[口语]最容易让人误解的英语词语(第三波)
[口语]惟妻命是从的husbeen
[口语]“口水战”英文怎么说?
[口语]“帅又不能当饭吃”英语怎么说?
[口语]“前传”和“后传”用英语怎么说?
美国口语骂人大全
从吴彦祖结婚看关于婚姻的英文表达
英语魔鬼口语1000句(002):拳头大的是爷
“触屏专用手套”陪你冬天玩iPad
让人最恐怖的10个英文单词
盘点那些汉语中没法用英语翻译的词
“跨年晚会”英语怎么说?
经典口语推荐
玩具中英文名称对照表
父亲节祝福语(双语)
九句地道英语让你闯遍天下都不怕
出镜率非常高,但却不被熟知的英文单词
从“PK”到“VS”看英语文化
英语魔鬼口语1000句(001):我有点找不着北
如何用英语表达“一生一世”的爱?
看北京豪华车展 学汽车英文单词
[口语]扎堆儿离婚:离婚群聚效应
[口语]什么是“中等收入陷阱”
中秋月饼怎么做?
[口语]大S“秘恋”终成正果
谈薪水必备英语口语
名著“翻拍”的英文表达
毕业闯关之“论文答辩”的英文说法
[口语]“影迷”英文怎么说?
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |