500-year wait eclipsed by rain

People of all ages, and even man鈥檚 best friend, don improvised goggles yesterday to protect their eyes against the spectacular solar show. Photo: Image China

Clouds and heavy rain put a damper on people鈥檚 joy and excitement yesterday as they prepared for the longest eclipse China has seen in 500 years.

Beijing resident Yang Lei was one of those people.

鈥淚t was 7 am, I got up and opened the curtains only to see the sky covered by thick clouds. I knew that it would be hard for Beijngers to see the eclipse today,鈥?he told the Global Times yesterday.

鈥淭he weather forecast said that it was going to be sunny today, but it was wrong. I鈥檓 just afraid that the thick cloud was from pollution,鈥?taxi driver Xiao Ming told the Global Times.

However, Zhang Ming-ying of the Beijing Metrological Bureau denied pollution as the reason for yesterday鈥檚 hazy weather.

鈥淒ue to several recent heavy rains followed with little to no wind, water vapor accumulated at a low altitude, forming a layer of thick cloud cover,鈥?he told the Global Times.

But in some areas where the clouds were thinner, residents caught a glimpse of the partial eclipse.

鈥淚 am one of the lucky ones,鈥?Zhang said.

鈥淭hese types of clouds form and disappear quite suddenly, making them difficult to predict,鈥?Zhang added.

Several Beijingers said they were able to watch the partial eclipse using the naked eye, as the clouds substantially dimmed the sunlight.

People who didn鈥檛 get a chance to see it still could sense a drop in temperature and darkened sky.

While Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou and Chengdu experienced heavy rain, both Hangzhou and Chongqing had clear skies for viewing.

Two airports in Shanghai switched on runway lights yesterday morning in order to avoid flight delays due to the darkened sky, according to CCTV.

鈥淚t was raining, but I was satisfied with watching the live broadcast of the eclipse on the Internet,鈥?Shanghai resident Ren Lin told the Global Times.

However, two young women from Japan were not as satisfied with their first trip to Shanghai.

鈥淲e got here two days before and were really prepared to watch the eclipse, but God wasn鈥檛 helping. It suddenly started to rain at 9:20 am,鈥?they told eastday.com.

鈥淓ven though we didn鈥檛 get to see what we came for, the two-day trip to China will be unforgettable.鈥?/p>

鈥淎ll of us who went out excited to watch the eclipse ended up not seeing anything and soaked to the bone,鈥?Jiang Fang, a resident of Nanjing, told the Global Times.

Frank, a German tourist visiting China with his daughter, made travel plans to arrive in Chengdu for the eclipse yesterday.

鈥淚 hoped to share this spectacular event with my daughter, and we even bought special glasses. But it rained,鈥?he said.

However, some were not so disappointed, since they were not that interested in the eclipse to begin with.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing special. People who are interested in astronomy have the time, I guess,鈥?Zuo Weiwei, 23, told the Global Times in Shanghai.

Cui Chenguang, an office clerk in Beijing, woke up at 10 am yesterday, missing the eclipse.

鈥淚 am working the evening shift this week, so sleep is much more important to me now than waking up early and seeing an eclipse.鈥?