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Drought in China’s southwest cracks earth. Girl only drank 1.5 bottles of water in week.

As rain fell on the Seattle area this week – and at times, pelting the ground – a shortage of fresh water thousands of miles away in China’s southwest region is turning into an epic problem – believed to be the worst of its kind in 100 years.

Chinese officials have turned their attention to the drought, which is affecting an estimated 24 million people and has hit Yunnan and other provinces, according to this Wall Street Journal article.

The drought began late last year and the shortage has caught the attention of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who recently visited Yunnan. Chinese troops and others are bringing in relief supplies.

And images have made their way to Chinese Web sites, as well as.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the region – which has some of China’s highest mountains – is expected to receive more seasonal rain in late May.

The Journal noted issues related to the water shortage:

Food prices could increase and questions about China’s dam construction:

The drought has raised fears of inflationary pressures as the water shortage threatens to drive up prices for rice and other agricultural products. It has also drawn attention from environmentalists who wonder to what extent disruptions from China’s massive construction of hydroelectric dams and reservoirs have contributed to the water shortages.

The Journal quoted Ma Jun, a director of a nongovernmental organization in Beijing that studies the environment, as saying:

paper mills have recently planted crops of eucalyptus, rubber trees and other non-local species, reducing native forest areas that can hold excess water and release it in the dry season. ‘Logging, deforestation and general eco-degradation in that region … has weakened the ecological capability to regulate water.’

Finally, the Journal informed readers that the demand for fresh water is growing, especially as the country modernizes and more people become financially well off.

By 2030, the news organization said citing a report from McKinsey & Co., the demand for water could be 25 percent higher than the country’s supply.

There are times when the news out of China breaks my heart – and this is one of those moments.

I know it’s easy for anyone to compare the extremes of any country – wealth vs. the less fortunate, for instance.

Go to Beverly Hills, parts of Manhattan or even cities in the Seattle area and you can see people living a very good life.

Go to parts of big U.S. cities and you can see just how difficult life on the streets can treat a person. And yes, there are parts of rural areas in the United States that are still facing with social and economic issues.

That being said, compare these images of China’s drought to the photographs of the go-go life for many of China’s elite on the fast-growing Hainan Island.

The New York Times moved a story about the soaring growth and included images of long-time locals in contrast to the new middle class, who are enjoying the good life.

One item is particularly eye-catching in the article: The developer of what is expected to be China’s largest yacht club wants to build 220 villas – each with a butler, swimming pool and spa.

From the Times:

‘I want to get it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most spas anywhere,’ the manager says.

And in a life imitates art moment, CCTV recently broadcast a reporter’s visit to Yunnan province and interviewed students, including a class of 10-year-olds who are hoarding the emergency water they’ve received from relief workers – so they can give it to their parents.

One girl told the television reporter that she has only consumed 1.5 bottles of water in the last six days – primarily so that her family also can have something to drink.

A school official said the relief water can enable each of the 160 students to drink one bottle of water a day.

That prompted this comment from the reporter:

It is clearly not sufficient for a 10-year-old child.

As you see in the CCTV report, one girl states the obvious – that she really would like rain to come fast. But coming from a youth on the verge of tears before a news camera only gives that wish more weight.

I say that this video clip is a life imitating art moment because Chinese director Zhang Yimou, years ago, made another fantastic, moving film about ordinary people and life in China.

It’s called Not One Less – and centers around a girl, who is about 12 or so, gets drafted to teach kids in a rural area – youth who are similar to the students in that CCTV report.

By the way, my wife tells me that the girl in Not One Less reportedly has come to the United States to study film.

The photographs that you see here of the drought in Southwest China are from QQ via ChinaSmack.

The ChinaSmack blog post includes a translated article from a Chinese reporter who went to see this waterless lake that is pictured.

A local told the reporter that the lake had never run out of water in 40 years.