Chinese farmers carry water back home after receiving it from a water distribution center in the village of Chunxun in Zhongjiang County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, March 7, 2007. The provincial government allocated 15 million yuan (US$1.9 million) to fight the drought that left 1.12 million people short of drinking water and also affected the spring plowing.

Two geese walk in a dried-up pond in Suining, Sichuan Province, March 2, 2007. Local government carried out a campaign to fight the drought that has affected the spring plowing, Xinhua reported.

Chinese farmer Xie Yongjiang, 55, digs a well in the village of Chunxun in Zhongjiang County, Sichuan Province, March 7, 2007. Xie digs the well eight-meters-deep in three months but there's still no water.

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2007)