Police in the northern Inner Mongolia region said two people died from the cold weather. One of them, a student, died from exposure when he got lost in windy weather after school, the official Xinhua news agency said.

In the far-western region of Xinjiang, three people were killed in avalanches and another froze to death, the report said.

China has endured an unusually early and cold winter, reaching its height since January 1 with heavy snow across vast parts of the north, rare snowfalls further south and persistent sub-freezing temperatures.

The situation has caused several provinces and regions to ration electricity or take other power-saving moves to reduce strain on electric grids as residents turn up the heat to stay warm.

In Xinjiang, the snow flattened and damaged at least 100,000 homes, and around 8,600 people have been evacuated across northwestern China, Xinhua said.

The nation's east coast has also been affected, and waters in the northern Bohai and Yellow seas were frozen.

Xinhua quoted China's central meteorological station as saying that more snow was forecast for northern and western parts of the nation.

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