Drought continues to affect the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, one of China's major grain-producing areas. Dongting lake in Central China's Hubei Province has now shrunk by two thirds. The drought has seen the water level fall by about 5 meters, hampering breeding and migration. And no rain is expected for the next week.

Photo taken on May 28, 2011 shows the stranded boats on the dried field of Chaohu Lake in Chaohu City of east China's Anhui Province. At least 200 boats piled up in Chaohu Lake as the drought hit Anhui Province.[Xinhua]

Chaohu Lake in east China's Anhui Province is also experiencing its lowest water level in 5 years, with some parts drying up. Meanwhile, the continuous drought has turned Poyang Lake, the country's largest fresh water lake in Jiangxi Province, into a prairie. The lake is now its smallest in history, just one-tenth of the size of last year. Fish production in the area has also fallen sharply.