A farmer checks his dried field in Shajin Village of Fuxin City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, on August 14, 2009. The central, eastern and southern parts of Liaoning Province begin to be confronted with drought besides the severely suffered western and northern parts. About 1.2 million hectares of crops were threatened and about 422,400 people and 124,700 head of livestock suffered from drinking water shortages due to the drought. [Li Gang/Xinhua]