Bringing gift of water to a dry land
Print Edition
When sunlight floods the mountains around her village at noon, Lan Aiyan, a 23-year-old Yao woman in Dahua Yao Autonomous County, south China鈥檚 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, decides to start with her laundry.
However, after the washing machine discharged a round of wastewater, Lan felt a twinge of guilt and went on to complain that the machine consumed too much water.
鈥淚 use the water from my neighbors鈥 water tank and dare not waste too much,鈥 she said, noting her family鈥檚 water tank had just been built a week ago, and now she is more eager for rain than ever.
To Lan, born and raised in the mountainous region, the water tanks of her village mean a lot. Lan鈥檚 village is located in the northwest of Dahua county, with the landscape marked by typical karsts and many depressions.
In 2009, an area of about 486 square kilometers centered on Lan鈥檚 town were classified a national geopark because of its unique high peak-cluster depressions.
This is the only large-scale karst national geopark that features high peak-cluster depressions in China, and it is also the deepest karst depression area in the world.
In the core region of the national geopark with an area of 251 square kilometers, which covers Lan鈥檚 village, there are more than 5,000 mountain peaks of over 800 meters in height, 1,326 depressions of different depths and only 324 of them are inhabited.
The geopark belongs to a subtropical zone enjoying a humid and hot monsoon climate with abundant rainfall. Its average annual rainfall ranges from 1,249 to 1,673 millimeters, according to the local meteorological bureau.
Nevertheless, the lack of drinking water and poverty had plagued the local residents from generation to generation in the past.
In 2015, all the 10 administrative villages under Lan鈥檚 township were identified as poor villages, with a total population of 19,118 鈥 10,681 in poverty.
鈥淲e have a very long rainy season here, but we are unable to store water as the surface water soaks in too fast,鈥 Lan said.
鈥淕enerally, when it rains heavily here, lots of rainwater pours down from the mountain but disappears soon at the bottom of the depressions.
鈥淒uring the dry season there isn鈥檛 enough water in the tank, and we must be careful.鈥
The water tanks built in the past are often small and leak easily because they are built from rubble, she added.
To solve the shortage of drinking water, the local government launched a campaign to build cement water tanks with a larger capacity for the villagers.
Since 2015, the township government has offered more than 31 million yuan (US$4.4 million) of subsidies to help the villagers build 2,069 water tanks. More than 2,000 households and 11,000 people have benefited.
The government has also provided subsidies for local families to install water purifiers and coverings on their water tanks, in order to ensure the water quality.
After four years of fighting against poverty, the poverty-stricken population in the township dropped to 1,322 at the end of 2019.
鈥淲hen my water tank fills with water, I will audaciously take a bath,鈥 Lan Aiyan said, noting that the thousands of water tanks scattered in the mountains is one of the most beautiful sights in the national geopark.
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