IT snowed heavily last week in northern China. Big snows fell on Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Ningxia and Xinjiang. For many cities, it was the biggest snowfall in 50 years. The snow made traveling hard. Many schools had to close for days.

Jia Aizhen, 14, lives in Taiyuan, Shanxi. She should have a mid-term (期中的) test on Wednesday. Because of the snow, they had the test on Sunday instead.

"It was good because we had more time to review (复习) our lessons," said Jia. She enjoyed the snow. It was as deep as 15cm and came to halfway up her leg. "I felt peaceful (平和的) and relaxed (放松的) to see the white snowy world."

Kang Xinyi, 13, and Wang Danyang, 13, are classmates at Shijiazhuang No 43 Middle School in Hebei. Their school stopped on Wednesday. Kang said the snow in the yard was as deep as 40cm.

"It was so good we didn’t have to go to school!" said Kang. Kang, Wang and another friend had a snowball fight (打雪仗) and made snowmen. They also helped clear snow off the roads.

"I never saw such a big snow," said Wang. "Last year we only made a small snow panda, but this year our snowman is as tall as 1 meter!"

"If the snow didn't make trouble for traffic (交通), we would hope it would never stop!" said the girls.