Ways and means

Three weeks after the heavy early-January snowfall, there's still a lot of snow uncleared in Beijing. Although the daytime temperatures have been climbing close to or a bit above freezing over the last few days, the remaining mounds of snow are so deep-frozen now that they refuse to budge.

The roads and sidewalks, at least, are (almost) all well-cleared now: the snow has all been shovelled into heaps at the side of the road, or dumped on the grassy central reservations.

Yesterday, however, the snow shovellers were out in force once again.

This time, they were shovelling the frozen snow back on to the roads.

Yes, somebody had had the bright idea of spreading the remaining snow and ice across the roads, in the expectation that passing traffic would help to melt it - or at least disperse it.

I'm not convinced about the efficacy of this tactic, but.... even so, I am sort of impressed by the ingenuity on display here.

Then again, maybe it has nothing to do with attempted snow dispersal, really. Perhaps the city authorities' only concern is with keeping their small army of workmen busy with something.