No rain in the country, no jobs in the cities

Nanhechi village, northwest of Dengzhou in Henan province, has seen little rain for the past three months. Every morning, Sun Liang's anxious grandfather looks out at the extensive cornfields in front of his house. "I wonder what's going to happen," says the elderly farmer, with a sigh.

However, Sun Liang is more concerned with how he is going to find employment in the city, after the Spring Festival.

The 21-year-old migrant worker was laid off when the shoe factory he worked for went bust last November. He couldn't find another job and returned home early for the Spring Festival.