Local residents walk carefully on an icy road in the city of Kaili, South China's Guizhou Province, January 10, 2011 (XINHUA)

On a recent morning in the city of Guiyang in Guizhou Province, citizens were astounded to see a thick blanket of snow covering the roads and sidewalks. Pedestrians tied pieces of cloth to their shoes to increase their traction on the slippery sidewalks; cars proceeded with utmost caution.

Heading to school despite the icy winds, middle school student Gao Ronghao struggled to keep his footing on his way to Guiyang's No.19 Middle School. Last Thursday, the school suspended classes because of the frigid temperatures and icy roads. The weather took a turn for the better over the weekend, and students were told to resume classes.

Meanwhile, at avocational and technical college located in Guizhou's Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, 222 students have just finished their exams and are waiting to head back home. The school arranged for special buses to transport the students in the frigid weather; thousands of other college students had already arrived home safely. The Guizhou Municipal Government even stepped in by making a backup transportation plan for those students that might still be stuck in school, far away from home.

On the same day, primary and middle schools in Guizhou's Kaiyang County resumed their scheduled classes after previously suspended classes on January 6 and 7 as a result of the poor weather. Kaiyang was hit particularly hard by the rough weather; final exams in the county's primary schools were canceled outright. Students in those schools were sent home immediately before the weather could get any worse; makeup exams will likely take place after the beginning of the next semester.

Danzhai, another county in Guizhou, has also suffered setbacks as a result of subzero temperatures. Schools in this county have already adjusted their schedules three times because of the weather. When the cold snap showed that it would not be letting up any time soon, the county's educational administrators took to the telephone, television and mobile phone, alerting the county's residents that 48 primary and middle schools would begin their vacations early this year.

Guizhou's Education Department has been undertaking urgent communications with its schools, approving class suspensions and helping to rearrange class times and final exams. Of course, the first priority for all of the educational officials in Guizhou is the health and safety of the students and teachers there.

(Source: People's Daily, translated by ZHONG MING)