Early snow in north as southeast braces for typhoon

The city of Datong in North China's Shanxi province received its first snowfall of the season on Tuesday, the start of the weeklong National Day holiday. While the snow caught residents by surprise and travelers off guard, milder conditions can be expected for the remainder of the break, forecasters said.

"The snow was unexpected! I was stunned when I captured the beautiful view with my camera," said Yu Zhandong, a photographer and native of Datong, who added that the city usually sees its first snowfall around November.

The city, which saw the mercury plummet to 0.3 C on Tuesday morning, has been a sought-after tourism destination for the National Day holiday, which runs until Oct 7.

Datong can be found in several scenes of the recently released and hugely popular video game Black Myth: Wukong, which is based on the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. The city's cultural atmosphere with its Buddhist and Taoist sites has made it an in vogue destination.

Ye Xiaodong, a tourist from Beijing, who was visiting Datong with his girlfriend, was also surprised by the snowfall.

"We checked the weather forecast before we left and prepared some coats, but we never expected such cold weather and even snow," he said, adding that he had to buy a down jacket after they arrived in the city around Tuesday noon.

While those in Datong have embraced the snow, residents in the country's southern and eastern coastal areas are bracing for Typhoon Krathon — the 18th typhoon of the year.

The National Meteorological Center issued its second-highest alert for the typhoon on Wednesday morning, and estimated it would make landfall between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning on southwestern Taiwan before weakening.

The center said that Typhoon Krathon would bring strong gales to Taiwan and coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on Wednesday and Thursday.

For the rest of the country, the center reminded travelers to wrap up warm during the holiday as colder conditions are expected.

China's northeastern and southwestern provinces can expect minimum temperatures to drop below zero until Thursday.