Well, that's a relief!

On an early winter day, at the site of the completion of the well-drilling project in Nanling village, Yicheng county, Shanxi province, a clear spring gushed from a 403-meter-deep underground well.

On Nov 20, a completion ceremony was held at the site, with villagers lining up to collect water, knowing that, from this day forward, the century-old "dry well village" has its own deep water well.

There are a total of 245 households and 786 people in Nanling village, which is situated on the Zhongtiao Mountain. Here, ravines and gullies crisscross 10 natural villages. Historically, Nanling village was infamous for its drought problem. Dredging of dry wells had become a necessity for the villagers' survival. Dry wells are generally selected in low-lying areas and are dug for about 10 meters, but do not produce water. They are mainly used to store rainwater collected in summer and snow water in winter for both human and livestock use. There is a saying in the local area that "water is more expensive than oil in Nanling", and it has long been the wish of the villagers to enjoy unfettered access to deep well water.

The difficulty in storing and finding water has made it especially cherished. Every household in Nanling has several large water tanks. When it rains and snows, the villagers put the pots and pans under the eaves to collect it and then fill the water tanks and dry wells.

When it comes to drought season, most of the dry wells in the village quickly became just that and villagers had to pick up buckets and descend into the ravine to find water. Under the leadership of the Party branch and village cadres, residents searched for water sources, dug dry wells, and set up ways to catch rain, trying everything in the "fight" for water.

In the 1960s and 1970s, in order to solve the problem, the government sent water conservancy experts to carry out exploration who concluded that the geological structure didn't allow for a large amount of groundwater.

After bearing the weight of this conclusion like a "heavy hammer" on their hearts, in 2017, they decided to build a deep well to finally solve the problem of constant water shortages. Villagers enthusiastically donated money for the drilling.

By the end of 2018, Nanling collected 350,000 yuan ($49,700) of special funds from the county and by May this year, after all the necessary procedures were completed, the village cadres and villagers carried the equipment to survey the site by hand, and the well drilling began.

By the beginning of July, the well had reached more than 100 meters, and the team decided to test for water. It produced water for only a few minutes. Then, in mid-August, when the well hit more than 300 meters, the team decided to try again. And, again, the water production lasted only 10 minutes. Facing failure, the drilling team stopped working, despondently wondering if they should continue to dig or just give up. However, the villagers were unbowed; no water at 300 meters, then dig to 350 meters. Still no water? Then dig to 400 meters, even 500!

By mid-October, the well hit 403 meters. Water burst forth, with the pipe pumping out its life-giving bounty with no interruption for 170 hours. The villagers rejoiced; as the water flowed from the depths below, it streamed, with joy, from their eyes as well.

It didn't take long for the water quality monitoring report to declare the well fit for use.

At the completion ceremony, the villagers took containers and lined up in front of the water pipe, with some villagers eager to taste it, cupping the water into their mouths with their hands. The village has finally broken the curse of being "water trapped" and its future has been changed for generations to come. Generations that will－thanks to plans to install water pipes running from the well－enjoy clean water directly in their homes.