At the beginning of 2011,major grain producing provinces in central and east China experienced a prolonged drought that stretched for more than three months.Then in summer,a severe drought left millions short of drinking water in southwest China.Even the usually water-rich regions along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were not spared.In May,they suffered from the worst drought in 50 years,heavy rains eventually relieved the drought but these rains in t caused serious flooding.Despite the disasters,last year saw a bumper harvest in China.On December 16,the Ministry of Agriculture said that the total grain output in 2011 reached a historical high of 571.2 billion kg,up 24.75 billion kg,or 4.5 percent,from 2010.