Ground service staff members remove snow on a plane at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Luo Xingzhi)

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The wait is finally over after snow fell in Beijing Wednesday amid celebrations marking the Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year.

At about 9 a.m., light snow started to fall in suburban districts of Beijing, such as Yanqing and Huairou. As of 10 a.m., more than 10 weather stations in the city had observed snow, a criterion for the municipal observatory to declare the arrival of the first snow.

This winter's snow arrived particularly late, only five days away from becoming the latest snow on record, which happened in the winter of 1983-84.

Beijing has never had a winter without snow since the capital city started keeping weather data in 1951, according to Beijing News.