Mobilising the might of the state, China has deployed more than 300,000 soldiers and nearly 1.1 million militia and army reservists to get traffic moving and ensure power supplies, Xinhua news agency reported.

The freak weather, which has killed at least 60 people and affected more than 100 million people, could last another week, the Central Meteorological Station said yesterday.

It has also caused massive transport bottlenecks and blackouts across huge areas in the lead-up to Chinese New Year which begins on Feb 7.

'The most difficult period is still not over yet. The situation remains grim,' Premier Wen Jiabao said during a Cabinet meeting yesterday.

The government also repeated a plea to millions of people to shelve their travel plans. In Guangzhou city, about 2,000 policemen struggled to hold back thousands of people who gathered every day for a week outside the main railway station, surging forward at the merest hint of an opening to a train platform.

Factory worker Fang Yu has fought for two days to get into the station after the throng forced him to miss an earlier train to his home in Hunan.

'I really want to go in, but it's getting very dangerous. If I don't make it by tomorrow, I might just give up,' he told AFP.

Airports in Shanghai, Hang-

zhou, Nanchang and Changsha, which had reopened, were forced into a new round of flight cancellations yesterday as they de-iced planes. More rain overnight also caused new closures on highways in Guangdong and Hunan provinces.

The government has pressed more than 1,000 extra trains into service to cope with the huge passenger demand and maintain shipments of coal to keep power stations going.

Mr Wen was in Chenzhou yesterday to oversee relief efforts, Reuters reported.

In a letter to his Chinese counterpart yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted the difficulties China faces as it endures its harshest winter in half a century, at a time when millions are making their way home for the New Year.

'On behalf of the Government of Singapore, I would like to extend our sympathies to the people of China who are affected by the severe snowstorms, especially our condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives,' he said.

In his letter, he also expressed relief that the situation, though serious, remains under control.

'I have every confidence that under your able leadership, the Chinese government will be able to overcome the challenges, and get the roads and trains moving again,' he said. 'We sincerely wish that the affected areas will return to normalcy in the shortest possible time, and that those travelling will be able to join their families soon to celebrate the New Year.'