Road and water traffic came to a standstill in parts of Liaoning province with 10 expressways completely or partly closed and all passenger ferry services suspended due to heavy snowfall in the middle of the province on Wednesday.

A statement from Liaoning Department of Communications said vehicles had to operate at very slow speeds on many other highways that were still open because of the slippery road surfaces in the snowy weather.

Affected by bad weather, all passenger coach services that operate along the province’s expressways were suspended on Wednesday, with many passengers stranded in coach terminals across the province, the statement said.

The provincial weather bureau issued yellow warning alerts six times, indicating many highways in the province had frozen.

It was unknown when the expressways would open and ferry services resume as snowy weather is forecast for the coming days, the statement said.