While China has refused to speak to Taiwan's government since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, believing she is a separatist, city-to-city exchanges had continued until interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Southern Chinese provinces are expected to swelter under extreme heat and weather experts have already predicted another blistering summer, a repeat of last year's record-breaking more than two-month stretch.

China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades, weighed down by rising living costs especially in big, sprawling urban hubs, weak economic growth, and changing attitudes towards raising a family.

The steep rise in infections came after years of hardline restrictions were abruptly loosened last month with little warning or preparation, and quickly overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums.

The nationwide surge has spurred China's top leadership to reaffirm its zero-tolerance strategy for the virus, a policy that President Xi Jinping says is to save lives, especially among China's elderly.

Rising numbers from outbreaks across China have prompted a tightening of curbs and lockdowns, including in parts of cities such as the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, as the economic toll of zero-Covid mounts.

The closure marks the latest disruption for the Shanghai Disney Resort, which was shut for over three months during Shanghai's lockdown earlier this year.

Poyang Lake is at its most depleted level on record, and several reservoirs in central China were reported last month to be at 'dead pool' status, meaning they did not have enough water to dispatch downstream.

Infections have risen to the highest since August, with the uptick coming after increased domestic travel during the National Day 'Golden Week' earlier this month.

Nationwide, 2,089 new local infections have been reported, the highest since Aug 20.

Citizens without a record of a nucleic acid test from within seven days will be assigned a yellow code which restricts access to some public venues.

Hainan province is one of the several Chinese regions that had seen relatively few cases for more than two years which are now battling outbreaks, raising the risk of persistent tight restrictions as the economy weakens.