Cona County, Tibet in southwest China was one of the first places in the country to view the solar eclipse, which occurred at 8:01'27 on Wednesday, according to an observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

However, the solar view from Cona was blocked by overcast, according to sources from the CAS Purple Mountain Observatory based in Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu Province.

The sun sunshine was blocked behind clouds in Lhasa, Tibet's capital.

(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2009)