Beijing issues its second-highest gale alert as strong winds hit the capital region.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and public parks are closed in Beijing, as strong winds driven by a cold vortex from neighbouring Mongolia felled hundreds of trees and crushed cars across the Chinese capital.

Beijing issued its second-highest gale alert on Saturday, the first time in a decade, warning 22 million residents to avoid non-essential travel as winds could potentially break April records dating from 1951.

The city’s two vast international airports, Beijing Capital and Daxing, cancelled 693 flights on Saturday afternoon with warnings of more violent weather on its way, especially in the country’s north and along coastal areas.

More flights and trains were also cancelled as some parts of the country recorded their most powerful winds in more than 75 years, registering at up to 148km/h (92mph). The winds brought late snowfalls in Inner Mongolia and hailstones in southern China.

In Beijing, the Universal Studios theme park was forced to shut operations at least through Sunday, while historic sites such as Beijing’s Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven were closed.

Football matches and other outdoor events have also been suspended.

A half-marathon set for Sunday featuring humanoid robots competing with humans in a bid to showcase China’s technological advances was also cancelled.

The winds dominated social media chats, with many people expressing concern for food delivery workers braving the conditions.

“In weather like this, we can choose not to order delivery – it’s too hard for them,” one Weibo user wrote.

Sandstorms raging over a stretch from Inner Mongolia to the Yangtze river region also crippled road travel in eight other provinces, Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV said.

Sandstorms were also expected to affect Shanghai from Saturday afternoon through to Sunday morning.

High winds and sandstorms are generated in China’s dry north, where the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts sit surrounded by grasslands and, mountains and forests.

China has fought a decades-long battle to lessen the impact of sandstorms, especially in Beijing, which sits on the edge of an arid region, and where such storms can reduce visibility to practically zero, send sand into buildings and clothing and cause severe discomfort to the eyes, nose and ears.