Luhun reservoir, the second largest reservoir in central China's Henan province, with a capacity of 1.3 billion cubic meters of water, now holds only 200 million cubic meters of water. Local residents take a walk along the dry dam. [Southern Metropolis Daily]

Hit by a lingering drought, the water in Luhun reservoir, the second largest reservoir in central China's Henan Province, now contains less than half of last year's water it held, or only about 200 million cubic meters of water, leaving wide dry dams as new playgrounds for local residents, the Southern Metropolis News reported on Wednesday.

The reservoir, once used for flood control, is now being used to fight the worst ever drought that hit Henan, one of China's major grain producing areas.

Since last December, the reservoir has been ordered to discharge its shrinking waters twice in helping irrigate farmlands in the province, totalling more than 2 million mu (or about 133 thousand hectares), said Jia Huale, an official of the reservoir management office.

So far, the water left in the reservoir is only about one sixth of its total holding capacity.

Jia said that three electric generating units had to be shut down due to the lack of water. If the drought persists until May, when the wheat requires more irrigation, the reservoir will face even more severe water shortages.

Groups of local residents were attracted to the large dry dam. Some even rode their motorbikes on its inner walls, regarding the empty reservoir as their new adventure playground.