Cold winds sweep Beijing, closing key sites, disrupting travel

BEIJING, April 12 (Reuters) - China's capital hunkered down on Saturday as rare typhoon-like gales swept northern regions, forcing the closure of historic sites and disrupting travel while bringing late snowfalls and hailstone showers in some areas.

Windows shook and trees crashed onto footpaths and cars, rocked by gusts of wind driven by a cold vortex from neighbouring Mongolia that sent temperatures plunging.

The winds, which started on Friday, are set to continue over the weekend, packing gusts of up to 150 kph (90 mph), the official Xinhua news agency said. They brought late snowfalls in Inner Mongolia and hailstones in southern China.

Beijing issued its second-highest gale alert this weekend, for the first time in a decade, warning 22 million residents to avoid non-essential travel as winds could potentially break April records dating from 1951.

After earlier warnings, some residents said they were very nervous but still managed to get around.

"It wasn't as severe as I had imagined - not to the point where it was impossible to go out - though it is having some impact on daily life," said 30-year-old local resident, surnamed Li.

By 2 p.m. (0600 GMT), winds had felled 703 trees in Beijing while 693 flights had been cancelled at Beijing's two international airports - Beijing Capital and Beijing Daxing, state media reported.

The winds dominated social media chats, with many people expressing concern for food delivery workers braving the conditions.

"In weather like this, we can choose not to order delivery - it's too hard for them," one Weibo user wrote.

The winds forced the postponement of a half-marathon set for Sunday featuring humanoid robots competing with humans in a bid to showcase China's technological advances.

Sandstorms raging over a stretch from Inner Mongolia to the Yangtze River region crippled road travel in eight provinces, Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV said.

Sandstorms were expected to impact Shanghai from Saturday afternoon through to Sunday morning.

Strong winds bringing sand and dust from Mongolia are routine in spring, but climate change has made weather events more extreme.