Zhangjiakou city of north China's Hebei Province is suffering a serious spring drought for the fifth consecutive year since being struck by a severe one in 1999.

Located in the province's northwestern dry and semi-dry area, the city has an average of 426 mm of rainfall annually, creating a climate dubbed "nine out of ten dry years." In 2002, the dry city saw rainfall of only 328 mm.

Currently, there are only 120 million cubic meters of water in the city's reservoirs, 22 percent less than that of the same time last year. Forty-two small and medium-sized reservoirs have dried up and 1,541 wells reach no underground water.

Because of this lack of water, some 4.64 million (309,000 hectares) of the city's 13.5 million mu (900,000 hectares) of arable land can't be sowed in time and nearly 200,000 people and 60,000 cattle are suffering from lack of drinking water.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2003)