Farmers of Aidong Township wait for the rain to sow the seed in the thirsty fields in Donglan County, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 16, 2010. The drought in Donglan County, one of the drought-stricken areas in Guangxi, had affected 82,300 mu (5486 hectares) of farmland by March 17 and 81,600 people were denied easy access to drinking water. The local government and people were mobilized to fight against the drought here. [Xinhua]

The meals of Li Shaorong and his wife contain only plain rice, pickles and a few slices of radish.

For months, they've had no soup.

Their house is dusty, and towels are as hard as cardboard -- no one in the family remembers when was the last time they were wet.

Their home village of Shiyanzi in Xundian County of southwest China's Yunnan Province is at the center of the worst drought to hit the province in a century.

The village has had no rain for six months. "The horsebean and rape has withered in the field and we're running out of grain in the house," said Li.

For months getting drinking water has been a problem. The local government has been rationing out water to each household since January -- a meager amount just enough to keep everyone alive.

Bathing, or even face washing, is out of the question.

"I use a few drops of water to rinse my eyes every other day," said Li. "I've never seen such a drought since I was born."

The Yunnan provincial climate center said the drought, which started in September, was the worst in any living person's memory.

"The average precipitation was down by 60 percent, and the drought will persist until mid May," said Zhu Yong, head of the center.

The drought has left nearly 8 million people short of drinking water in Yunnan, which has the country's third largest water resource.

It has wreaked havoc, cutting by half the harvests of fruits, tea, rubber, coffee, flower and other economic crops that are pivotal to the local economy.

Yunnan Province is responsible for nearly 80 percent of all fresh flower sales in China's market. Many cities across the country have reported nearly a 100 percent price rise and a remarkable drop in supplies.

On Tuesday, a group of excavators dug out a 150-meter deep well, hitting water in Ershan County of Yuxi City, the first success after two weeks of excavation for water in six cities across the thirsty province.

The well, which is expected to provide 500 cubic meters of water daily, will feed more than 4,000 people in Huanian Town, which has 12 rural communities and a secondary school, said Li Lianju, deputy chief of land and resources in Yunnan.

"We aim to dig at least 1,000 wells across the province to provide for up to 1 million people," said Li.

Severe drought has also plagued the neighboring Guizhou Province, where 17 million people are short of drinking water, the provincial flood prevention and drought relief office said Wednesday.

Eighty-six out of the total 88 cities and counties are suffering from the drought, it said in a press release.