Wuqiao County, in the flat farmlands of Hebei Province on the North China Plain, is home to dozens of acrobatic schools.

NPR: The Acrobats of China's Wuqiao County

So did China and South Korea, countries not usually associated with water shortages but where agricultural expansion has been draining dry breadbasket areas like the North China Plain.

ECONOMIST: Buying farmland abroad

In environmental news, Xinhua flags up a survey by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences showing that only 22.2%of shallow groundwater in the North China Plain is drinkable because of pollution.

BBC: China media: Vietnam row