No drinking water in Zhangpojiao

November 11, 2010, when we came back to the Miao village of Zhangpojiao, their communal water cistern, that can contain up to 400 cubic meters of water, was already almost empty. The water was less than 10 cm. high and of a deep yellow colour. Starting last year, a terrible drought has continued up to today, all the water resources nearby the village are already dried up, and the old method of carrying drinking water in oxen carts is no longer useful. The villagers can only watch helplessly their withered corn fieds. The worst draught in more than a hundred years is hitting this small village of 20 households.