Local villagers stand on the banks of a section of the uncompleted Beijing-Shijiazhuang canal in Gaochang Village, located around 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Beijing in this June 25, 2008 file photo. The canal, part of the mammoth US$25 billion South-to-North Water Diversion scheme, aims to bring water from southern rivers to the arid north to bolster Beijing's scarce water supplies for the 2.5 million visitors expected during the 2008 Olympic Games. But China's ambitious hopes for a 'green' Olympics have magnified, not relieved, the city's reckless dependance on water for strained underground supplies and the mammoth canal project says Probe International, a Canada-based conservation group. Picture taken June 25, 2008. To match feature OLYMPICS-WATER/ REUTERS/David Gray/Files (CHINA) (BEIJING OLYMPICS 2008 PREVIEW)
REUTERS/DAVID GRAY