Sandstorms choke Beijing

Visibility was very poor for motorists

Beijing was hit by choking sandstorms on Wednesday, whipped up by high winds.

Pedestrians donned masks and fled for shelter and there were traffic delays as thick dust reduced visibility.

Pedestrians tried to protect themselves

Meteorologists have blamed a winter drought and advised people to stay indoors to protect their lungs.

Sand storms are common in northern China at this time of year but this storm was one of the strongest to hit Beijing.

"It's awful, I can't breathe," said Riu Chunyuan, 23, a cargo service worker.

Environmental fears

The Chinese capital is now less than 250-kilometres from the encroaching desert, prompting alarm from officials and from the public.

Weather experts advised people to stay indoors

Experts have warned that sandstorms could be a major problem for Beijing when it hosts the 2008 Olympics, despite costly efforts to halt the desert's advance.

The government has pledged $6.8bn (56.8bn yuan) on an environmental programme which includes planting a green belt of trees around the capital.

Beijing was swathed in ghostly light on Wednesday as the sky turned from grey to yellow to orange.

The official Xinhua agency said the sandstorm was the strongest so far this spring, moving west to east across much of north China.

Visibility in some parts of Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia regions had dropped to below 50 metres, the agency said.