FROM Henan's capital Zhengzhou, it takes five hours by road to Xichuan, a county in the southwest extremity of the province, next door to Hubei Province. Danjiangkou Reservoir, the source of water for the Central Route, is located on the border between the two provinces. The reservoir, 745 square kilometers in area, was constructed during the 1960s and 1970s as a major water conservancy project.

Because of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, about 162,000 people will be moved away from Xichuan. By August 2010, 76,000 people had already been relocated; the second phase, involving 86,000 people, started last May, to be completed within four months.

How Relocation Led to Poverty

In fact this is not the first large-scale relocation Xichuan residents have experienced. Between 1959 and 1978 the Danjiangkou Reservoir submerged 362 square kilometers of the county, including the 500-year-old county seat. Some 202,000 people had to move.

Xichuan has a lot going for it: mild weather, abundant rainfall and fertile soil make it very suitable for living and agriculture. Despite these living and farming advantages, Xichuan is among China's most poverty-stricken counties because of six population resettlements over the 20 years of reservoir construction. A third of Xichuan's population are migrants, and some "migrant families" have been forced to resettle up to four times.

Since a dam was built at Danjiangkou in 1959, the water level has gradually risen, resulting in large-scale migration to other provinces. However, many people returned later, unable to adapt to the weather and living conditions in the new place. They built shanties along the reservoir, opened up wasteland for crops and fished to earn a livelihood. As more and more people settled there, the local government named it Yanjiang (Riverside) Village. Now the village is home to over 130 families, all of them returned migrants. The rising water level has forced several rounds of relocation of waterfront families to higher ground. The shrinking of cultivable land and the weakening of the bearing capacity of the environment have resulted in dire poverty for the villagers.

Looking Forward to Resettlement

In 2002 the plan for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project got the formal go-ahead; under it Danjiangkou Reservoir would become the water resource for the Central Route. The implications for Xichuan were that 11 towns, 1,276 villages, three market centers and 36 industrial or mining enterprises were destined to be submerged by water. The central government also imposed a construction moratorium meaning that no new housing, roads or factories could be built in the area. In the context of China's double-digit economic growth, the poverty here presents a stark contrast.

Zhangzhuang Village of Taohe Township was formed by returned migrants in 1971 and 1973. Zhang Xiaojun, the village head, told us that the 1,940 villagers had to depend on food subsidies because of the insufficiency of arable land. In 1993, 762 people moved to Houpo Town to relieve the land shortage.

Now most people here still live in the adobe houses built 40 years ago. Zhang Xiaojun is no exception: the inside walls of his four-room home are plastered with posters from the 1970s, and the outside walls are of exposed mud bricks. In front of his house there is a relief tent supplied by a civil administration department. Just by the door a few chickens are scratching about. A hen cackles non-stop, perhaps announcing she's about to lay an egg.

Zhang told us very few new houses had been built because of people's low incomes and fear of relocation without warning. Since the moratorium, married couples with new babies had no choice but to rig up something makeshift. Because of their ages many houses had become dangerous structures, but remained unfixed because of the imminent possibility of having to move. At any strange noise people would rush outdoors for safety. In the last rainy season one house collapsed. "Many of us have taken to living in these temporary tents. We're looking forward to being resettled just as soon as possible," he said.

At the mention of new houses, Zhang's excitement is very obvious. They will be built in a new village, 400 kilometers away in Wangluo Town, Xiangcheng County of Xuchang City. The name of the village will stay the same though. The original location chosen was in a border area of three counties and not well situated for transportation. Zhang and the other villager representatives were not satisfied, so, after negotiation, the current location, one with much better transport access, was settled on. Zhang informed us that in accordance with policy, every resettled villager will get 24 square meters of housing space and 700 square meters of farmland. With the new village being close to the city, it will be easy for farmers to find work there. Representatives of the villagers regularly check the progress and quality of the new houses, and their traveling and out-of-pocket expenses are covered by the government.

Zhang Xiaojun's four-person household chose a two-story building of 202 square meters. "It's not far off being a villa like you townies have," he smiled. On top of relocation compensation, he has to add several tens of thousand yuan of his own money to buy the "villa."

As we left Zhangzhuang, we noticed a family throwing a party. "It's an engagement party," said Zhang. "A girl from Wangluo Town took a fancy to our new village and to a young man in our village. Once the move is made to the new house, they'll get hitched."

Uprooting Is Tough

It's hard to express in words the emotional engagement between Chinese people and their land. They farm it, inhabit it, and their lives are rooted in it. Learning from previous lessons, the local government decided to resettle all the 162,000 people within their home province of Henan. Even so, it will involve farming families leaving their roots with no prospect of return; more importantly, it means letting go of the tightly woven web of ties – the blood ties and social relations – that bind them to this place.

On constructions across the planned reservoir area, one keeps seeing a whitewashed horizontal line marked "172 meters." This is the planned impoundment level and anyone living below that line has to leave.

The line runs across Yaowan Village, Jinhe Town, where 65-year-old Wang Tingyan has a house just below the line, while his two daughters live above it. His second daughter lives only 200 meters from her dad, and often sends him down some tasty food she has cooked up. Once he moves away, it won't be easy for his daughters to look after him.

Brothers Ling Yingjun and Ling Yingxiang were among the first batch of migrants out of Linggang Village last year. Before moving, they swept the graves of their great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts. Soon these graves would be under water, and this was the final chance to pay respects to their forebears.

Ms. Zhang Caiman, in charge of relocation there, recalled the eve of resettlement, when all the houses had been demolished. She saw an old granny, eyes full of tears as she sat in front of what had been her home for all her long life, now reduced to a pile of rubble and dust. "What could I say? I knew anything I could say would seem empty."

Driving through Xichuan, fields of green wheat spread out before us. The wheat was already about a foot high, like a thick, soft blanket. From time to time, local official Xia Jifeng pointed to a stretch of land and said this would be under water next year. Though there was only a month to go before moving out the second batch of migrants, many people were still working the fields. They were probably inured to a life on the brink of relocation. No matter when the relocation happened, the land still needed planting for whatever harvest might be reaped.

People work the fields up to the last moment; there is only a month to go before this second batch of migrants is scheduled to move out. Zhao Yayuan

Little Buddies

In Xichuan's Memorial Hall of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, there is a group of sculptures portraying scenes of people leaving their homeland and relatives. One is of two pupils encouraging each other and promising to meet again when they are older. This dream came true for two pals.

The morning we set off to Xichuan we learned that Zhou Bin, in charge of relocation in Henan Province, would arrange to reunite best buddies Xiong Lingxia and Li Pei.

Eight-year-old Xiong used to live in Yuying Village of Taohe Township, and Li, a year older, used to live in Shangzhai Village. Just a stretch of road separated the two villages. From kindergarten to second grade they were in the same class and went to school together everyday. Xiong said they were desk mates and very best friends.

In August 2010, Xiong moved to Wanjin Town, Zhaoling District of Luohe City, while Li moved to Shuangmiao Township, Xiangcheng County of Xuchang City. The two places are 110 km distant and the previously inseparable pair had not seen each other since.

"I miss her so much," Xiong told a journalist last March, "I even dreamed we were playing together." The project office in charge of Danjiangkou Reservoir relocation decided to bring the two pals together again.

On April 9 Xiong came to Li's new house. They hugged each other tight. "I didn't see you when we moved. I miss you so much. Today is a total surprise," sobbed little Li. Xiong took out the gift she'd brought along, a red hair band, and arranged it on Li's head. They encouraged each other to study hard and promised to be best friends forever and ever.

Better Village, Better Life

Liuji Town of Zhongmou County, 20 km east of Zhengzhou, is a pilot resettlement site. Its Yaowan New Village has 1,094 people in 250 households, and every new house has a yard. There is a primary school and access to water channels and highways. Every one has been allocated 700 square meters of farmland, and the village has 240,000 square meters of fish breeding ponds.

Yao Genhuai is busy building a support for cucumber vines in his plastic greenhouse. The vines are about a man's height and bear thumb-size fruits. The 470-square-meter tent was put up last year, using RMB 20,000 of Yao's savings and a government subsidy of RMB 70,000. In addition to that, he has contracted 14,000 square meters of fish pools. He can easily make tens of thousands of yuan a year.

Speaking of life changes, Yao told us every household has tap water, gas, a flush toilet – life is much easier now. Proximity to Zhengzhou means they have more job opportunities. Even unskilled workers can make RMB 70 a day in the city. His only grouch is the weather. "My hometown has mountains and rivers, the air is better, the wind not so strong. It's warmer than here in winter."

Yao's neighbor, 57-year-old Li Xiaonü, has two sons. Her house and her sons' houses are next to each other. Her sons and their wives are working down south in Shenzhen, leaving their parents and a two-year-old son at home. Li and her husband have planted 2,600 square meters of farmland, which can provide their own food and about 4,000 yuan of income every year. Without others to help, she couldn't erect a greenhouse, and has sublet her fish pond allocation for an annual rent of 1,700 yuan. On top of that, the government has allocated 600 yuan per migrant per year for 20 years. So, with the monthly remittances from her two sons as well, Li is very content with her economic situation.

According to Guo Guiming, director of the General Office of Henan Provincial Migrant Office, the resettlement project fully embodies the lessons drawn from previous experiences. With a people-oriented philosophy, the government carried out a detailed resettlement plan including compensation policies and planning standards, to ensure that those resettled could successfully adapt and live a better life in their new abodes.