China will experience wide-spread freezing weather in the coming week, the National Meteorological Center forecast Sunday as it warned of possible travel chaos as millions of Chinese head home for the Lunar New Year holiday.

People walk in a street in Hulun Buir city of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 14, 2011. Under the effect of strong cold air, temperature in Hulun Buir dropped to minus 43 degree Celsius which caused frost fog and rime ice. [Xinhua]

Until Friday, rain, snow and ice will pummel many parts of China, after freezing weather caused mass evacuations and disrupted transportation networks in south China earlier in the month.

According to the forecast, icy weather will hit many provinces, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guangxi. Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and southeast Tibet will also to be affected.

Experts have warned the new round of freezing weather may cause greater disruption to the nation's transportation and power systems than the earlier one.

Hordes of migrant workers will soon head home for Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival. The period is the busiest for China's transportation systems. The holiday, a time for family reunions, falls on Feb. 3 this year.

In early 2008, freezing weather across southern China caused power cuts and transport chaos, preventing many residents from spending the holiday with their families.