WildChina is always in regular contact with guides to plan trips, create itineraries, survey new destinations, and more. Through this communication, our colleagues learn about local day-to-day life in provinces all over China – the stories that we might not find when reading a newspaper, magazine, or news site.
One of our most recent stories comes from Xiao, our local partner in Guizhou, on a drought that has plagued the southwest province since last fall:
“Since last September, most places in Guizhou, and even in other parts of southwest China, have been dry without rain. Until this February, this was a big problem for local residents: rivers vanished, water wells ceased to exist, lakes became little water ponds. People are truly suffering from the lack of water because it’s now so hard to even find water for drink.
“The crops died quite quickly, and many larger animals have died. As a result, young people who were making a living in the cities have had to return home to carry water home from far away. Other villagers have tried to dig water wells, but as Guizhou is largely made up of Karst stone, the soil is incredibly rocky and hard to penetrate. People are barely able to make wells with basic tools like hoes, spades, and axes…
“Local residents had to ask the government for help, and eventually help arrived, from professional digging teams to charity organizations. I have been helping these teams in the countryside, which is the reason why I’ve barely had internet access recently. I’ve witnessed how much water was available for residents to use daily – it was so little. One 87-year-old man commented that he had never seen Guizhou this dry in his entire life.
“With more teams coming, more money with which to buy bottled water, more artificial rain falling, and more water canals being built, things have started to improve. After 7 days in southwest Guizhou, the area of the province most affected by the drought, I was able to go home. Home is so good: there is still enough water for washing and cooking. I am so thankful for that.”
