Freezing fog shrouds China's "North Pole"

HARBIN, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- A freezing fog shrouded Mohe, also known as China's "North Pole," in Heilongjiang Province, turning the border county into a crystal fairyland with trees covered in ice.

Visibility of the county dropped to less than 50 meters as the lowest temperature reached minus 41.5 degrees Celsius Sunday, said the provincial weather meteorological station.

The station has issued a blue alert for cold wave from Tuesday to Friday, with the minimum temperature dropping to below minus 30 degrees Celsius in most parts of the province.

Affected by the cold wave, Harbin, the provincial capital, is likely to have its lowest temperature ever Wednesday, as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius, according to the station.

The lowest temperature in the city so far was minus 34.4 degrees Celsius, which was recorded in 1961. Enditem