Shanghai closed all ferry stations as winds became stronger under the influence of Fung Wong, the eighth tropical storm to hit China this year, according to the municipal transport department on Tuesday.

The ferries were closed on Tuesday morning. They will reopen when the weather and water conditions improve, said a staffer with the Wusong ferry station.

Five counties and districts of Shanghai, including Chongming, Baoshan, Pudong, Nanhui and Jinshan, issued blue alerts for Fung Wong on Tuesday morning.

Typhoon Fung Wong weakened into a tropical storm early on Tuesday after making landfall in Fuqing, Fujian Province late on Monday.

The storm continued to move northwest on Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2008)