After frequent harsh cold spells Qingdao, Shandong province, with air temperatures below freezing, the seashore there was covered with ice over the weekend.

The lowest temperature in Qingdao was -6.4 C on Dec 9, which froze the surface of Laixi Lake, Qingdao News reported on Monday.

A fisherman surnamed Qu said the sea ice appeared about 20 days earlier than it did last year.

The local authorities asked fishermen to prepare for the coming sea ice and they will accelerate the monitoring of it to issue timely alerts.

The National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center said the sea ice is expected to increase this week in Liaodong Bay and Yellow Sea with the depth of sea ice up to 10 centimeters.