HARBIN, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang experienced its coldest day so far this winter on Tuesday, with temperatures dropping below minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Sixteen counties and cities in Heilongjiang recorded their lowest temperatures since local records began.
Mulan County reported a 57-year low of minus 43.1 degrees Celsius.
A freezing fog shrouded Huzhong District in the Greater Hinggan on Tuesday, as temperatures hit a record low this winter of minus 50 degrees Celsius.
The local observatory forecast the extreme cold to last through Wednesday and Thursday.
Low temperatures in the provincial capital of Harbin have plummeted to minus 30 degrees Celsius in recent days. However, the biting cold has not scared away ice pop fans.
"We have sold more than 10,000 ice lollies today! We Harbin people just love eating ice in the cold," said Zhang Zijing, a salesclerk at a century-old ice lolly store on Central Street.
Some customers took selfies of themselves biting the frozen treats in the outdoor chill, while others stayed inside the heated store.
"It's a challenge to eat ice in this weather. But it's an unforgettable experience as well," said Liu Lifang, a tourist from Sichuan Province.
The National Meteorological Center maintained a blue alert for a cold wave Wednesday as a cold front continued to bring down temperatures in central and eastern China.
The center also issued a yellow snowstorm alert for Wednesday and Thursday, expecting 5 to 12 centimeters of snow in parts of Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi and Zhejiang provinces.
In the country's four-tier weather warning system, red is most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
