Heavy rains, thunderstorms, and hailstones have ravaged many areas of China, damaging homes and farmland, cutting power supplies, and disrupting urban traffic.

The downpour in Beijing brought a precipitation of more than 100 millimeters in three hours from 9 p.m. Tuesday, blocking traffic in several artery roads in downtown area. [chinanews.cn]

Thunderstorms have been battering southwest Chongqing Municipality and affecting approximately 275,000 people since July 21.

Another round of thundershowers with heavy winds and hail will hit Chongqing in the next three days, according to the local weather forecast.

Eastern China's Jiangsu, Anhui provinces and Shanghai Municipality was hit by hailstones and heavy rainfall yeasterday. High temperature will continue in the areas.

A downpour hit Beijing on Tuesday night and brought a precipitation of more than 100 millimeters in three hours from 9 p.m. Tuesday, blocking traffic in several artery roads in downtown area.

The municipal observatory forecast that the thunderstorms could occur in Beijing from Wednesday through Saturday, as the city has entered its flood season.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a blue alert for heavy rains in north China last week.

Thunderstorms have been battering southwest Chongqing Municipality since July 21, 2011. [ifeng.com]

In north Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a bridge was destroyed by rain-triggered floods on the Jining-Tongliao Railway.

About 3,800 passengers were stranded on five stalled trains from 7:30 p.m. on Monday, according to the railway bureau of Hohhot, capital city of Inner Mongolia.

As of the midday on Tuesday, most of the stranded passengers have been transferred by car to their destinations or other train stations nearby.

The round of strong rainfalls also battered north China's Hebei Province, neighboring Beijing, leaving 330,000 people in disaster and one person missing as of Tuesday.

About 14,000 hectares of farmland have been affected by the rain, and of that, 320 hectares have lost harvest. More than 700 houses and some urban and rural infrastructure were damaged.