Xuyong (CNS) -- Shuilao Village of the Yi ethnic group in Xuyong County, Sichuan province, continues to endure a searing drought, CNS reported on Monday.
With yearly rainfall of no more than 900 mm, the village has been dry throughout spring and summer, yielding no harvests of rice or tobacco. Villagers have also struggled to find enough water for their daily needs.
Local elementary and middle schools have been closed due to high temperatures. If the severe conditions continue, it is unclear when they will reopen.
Eight-year-old Yang Wei stays at home, along with many of her peers in the village. Her parents have left in search of better-paid work, leaving Yang with her grandmother and elder brother.
Whenever they are about to run out of water, Yang and her fellow villagers must walk for about a kilometer to a mountain spring, carrying baskets containing plastic bags. A narrow and treacherous mountain road is their only access to this precious water source.
The spring was discovered in the 1970s, when a canal was carved into the cliff to bring water to the village for daily and agricultural uses.
But this year's drought has nearly depleted the source of the mountain spring, endangering some 200 nearby residents who rely on it. Downstream from the cliff is the Chishui River, which is about to dry up completely.
With heavy loads on their backs, the children head for home after their second trip up the cliff, taking caution with every step.
"I usually accompany the children. We have to repeat the trip every day. The kids are obedient in sharing the daily duties," said Yang Congmao, an adult leading the expedition.
Water pumps have recently been installed in the village, which may eventually help reduce the burden on the children, many of whom are lucky to get two meals a day.
