Cold front to sweep north China, rain to hit southwest

A cold spell will sweep northern China over the next three days, causing temperatures to fall by four to six degrees Celsius, the nation's meteorological authorities said on Wednesday. Cold weather will affect the northern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the northeastern part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as well as areas in northeast China between Wednesday and Friday, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said. The cold front will move eastward and southward, hitting central and eastern parts of the country on Saturday. The NMC predicted cloudy and rainy weather for southwest China over the next week, with the northwestern part of Yunnan Province and southern part of Sichuan Province expected to be hit by heavy rains in the next three days.