File photo taken on Jan. 15, 2011 shows 80-year-old Zhu Maoquan examine dried wheat seedlings in Yuncheng City, north China's Shanxi Province. Shanxi Finance Bureau will subsidize local farmers with 2.23 billion yuan before March to fight against drought and promote spring ploughing. The north China region has been plagued by the drought since October of 2010. [Xinhua/Gao Xinsheng]