Irrigation project to help wealth flow to farmers

Living standards in mountainous counties in Northwest China are set to rise as a result of infrastructure improvements. Yao Yuxin reports from Jainca county, Qinghai.

Like most people in the area round the Yellow River Valley in Qinghai province, Jamyang Gyatso, a 56-year-old farmer from the Tibetan ethnic group, lets his fields lie fallow for seven months of the year.

With only 300 to 400 millimeters of rainfall annually and evaporation exceeding 1,300 mm, local farmers have long battled an acute water shortage.