Jixi was foggy as dawn broke but by the time we reached Didao it was snowing. The sunrise was a washout with no sun and very little moving around Didao-Hebei yard. SY 0407, 1205, 1213 and 1446 were seen at work over a two and a half hour period. As we left Didao, a very long freight passed on the main line hauled by a DF8 and an HXN5.

Next stop was the tip near Xinghua mine where SY 1437 appeared as expected with its spoil train. There was no train of empties to Xinghua though. On to Donghaikuang where SY0639 was yard pilot but left just before 13:00 to pilot SY 0746 up to the mine with a long train of empties. By this time the gentle snowfall had developed into a full blizzard with a strong northerly wind blowing the snow sideways. The roads were becoming extremely slippery and we decided to return to Chengzihe before they got even worse. The trip back was slow and we passed several road accidents on the way.

After about 30 minutes parked up near Beichang, the snow suddenly stopped and the sun came out. The rest of the afternoon was sunny but there were few good shots on offer. SY 1018, now fitted with a homemade stovepipe chimney, was washery pilot, SY 1058 was working the spoil train, SY 1369 was on the Dongchang - Beichang hoppers and SY 0804 was on trips to Jixi Xi.