The heavy snowfalls and freezing temperatures across China have left more than 50 dead, ravaged power supplies and hit millions of people trying to go home for the main holiday of the year.

A total of 77.9 million people have been affected by the weather which has covered a swathe of China stretching from Xinjiang in the northwest to Fujian in the southeast, various state newspapers reported.

Wen travelled to Changsha, capital of central Hunan province which has been particularly badly hit, where he met senior officials, chatted with travellers at the train station and inspected repair work on power lines downed by the weight of ice.

"I am deeply apologetic that you are stranded in the railway station and not able to go home earlier," Wen told passengers over a loudspeaker, the official Xinhua news agency said.

"We are now doing our best to fix things up and you will all be home for the Spring Festival," in early February, he added to applause.

The China Meteorological Administration forecast the snow and sleet would ease after February 2, Xinhua reported.

The Premier also visited the family members of three electricians who died on Saturday when cleaning ice from a transmission tower.

"As I face you here today, I cannot find enough words to express my condolence. Please accept a bow from me," Wen said as he bowed to them, Xinhua said.

Wen's journey underlined the extent of the problem -- he flew out of Beijing on Monday but had to land at an airport in the neighbouring province of Hubei, finally reaching Changsha by train.

"The major task for Hunan is to remove ice," Wen earlier told state television from his plane.

"Only with the ice gone can electric power lines and railway networks be safeguarded. Major power plants and the south-north railway should also be the focus of our work."

Early Tuesday, a bus skidded off an icy express route in southwest Guizhou province, killing 25 and injuring 13, the government reported.

Four others were killed and eight injured after a bus flipped over on an icy road in northwestern Gansu, state media reported.

At least 24 other fatalities have been blamed on the weather conditions in what the government said were non-traffic related accidents in the world's most populous nation.

The Communist Party's Politburo, regarded as the centre of power in China, ordered local authorities to make disaster relief the nation's "most pressing task," Xinhua said.

The weather has disrupted travel plans for millions of Chinese striving to return home for the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

The situation is particularly severe in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, a province in southern China whose export-oriented industries employ millions of migrant workers -- many of whom were hoping to get out before the festival.

Tens of thousands were gathered in or around Guangzhou train station, with anger bubbling over amid frustration that part of the crucial line to Beijing had been knocked out by the snow.

"Take him out and beat him," a woman shouted to an agitated mob, glaring at a rail official. "Otherwise they'll never understand how serious this is."

Hundreds of police officers and railway staff were deployed to control the crowds as angry passengers swamped enquiry desks and harangued rail officials, waving their train tickets and shouting abuse.

Similar scenes have been played out in China's largest city Shanghai, after authorities cancelled all long-distance train travel, leaving 30,000 stranded at stations.

The big freeze has sharply raised demand for coal but also badly affected road and rail supplies, exacerbating an existing reduction in coal output due to the closure of illegal mines and a traditional pre-holiday slowdown.

Coal is the source of some three-quarters of China's energy, but officials said Monday that supplies for power generation had fallen to just 21 million tonnes -- less than half the normal for the time of year.

Over the weekend, Wen ordered all levels of government to prioritise coal supplies to power plants and eliminate all but essential electricity use.

Authorities have since boosted the amount of coal transported by rail to a record high, and a government official said 17 provinces had adopted rationing measures, including deliberate power cuts known as brownouts.

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