[Photo/jjsx.china.com.cn]

"Here, the temple is more than a scenic spot. It is part of our heritage," said local man Qi Zhanbin, 42. "We grew up around the temple and it is hard to accept this harsh reality."

Apart from being a cultural heritage site, the lake also provides irrigation for surrounding fields and the water feeds two reservoirs.

"The reservoirs can hold 8.58 million cubic meters, which is used for irrigating around 700 hectares of fields," said Jiao.

With the desiccation spread over the internet, netizens have speculated that unsupervised drilling by local people might be the culprit.

"It may have something to do with the drought the county is suffering," said Song Zhanxiang, head of the water bureau. "This year's rainfall is only 40 percent of last year's."

The northern part of China has suffered a severe drought this summer. In Shanxi, 54 rivers have run dry, and 225 reservoirs are nearly empty.

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