Snow in SW China while the rest of China grills

When snow fell in the Old Town of Lijiang, Yunnan province, the evening of July 15 – right in the middle of the summer season -- and temperatures in one area fell to 14℃ so that locals had to put on warm clothes, people were shocked, and tourists were turning to social networking to express their astonishment.

Meanwhile, in the rest of China, people were complaining about the heat, with some saying that the only difference between them and a barbecue was that they had no seasoning. But, back in Lijiang, one tour guide with 14 years of experience, said that he was genuinely surprised to see the nearby Jade Dragon Snow Mountain covered in snow from the top to the bottom.

He explained, "Normally it snows here in July but only up on the top of the mountain. I haven't seen such snow in two or three years. When you see thick clouds shrouding the top of a mountain, you know it's going to rain. Tour guides like me see this natural phenomenon every morning and we never leave home without some thick clothes."

He went on to say, "It's raining and snowing here and with our elevation at around 4-5-kilometers above sea level, you definitely would expect this area to be cold."

Some cable car workers at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain said that most of the snow up on the mountain was the result of a moderate snowfall and has melted by now, and, "Whenever the temperature drops, it snows here but it's a pity that the snow wasn't enough and that the 'white blanket' didn't stay around. It's not often that you can see snow at the upper cable car station."

One woman named Wang, from Nanjing, who was with her daughter, said she likes the Jade Dragon Mountain area for casual visits and they had been climbing it when they came across the snow. Wang had never seen snow in her life and got excited and sent pictures of it to all her friends.

She joked, "My friends are still suffering from the glaring sun and couldn't believe their eyes when I sent them the pictures. Now they're all jealous and want to visit this place next year to chill out. I wanted to visit Northeast China, but my daughter insisted on coming here to flee the terrible heat, but we never expected to return to winter."