CHINESE CHILDREN HERD SHEEP TO PASTURE IN PIANGUAN, 1998-09-22 (photo)

Chinese children herd sheep to pasture near a village in Pianguan during their autumn holiday. The holidays, which end on October 10 are for children to help their farmer parents to harvest crops. Pianguan, on the border with Inner Mongolia on the Loess Plateau, is one of the poorest towns in China with most of the residents living under the poverty line earning less than US$ 100 per person each year. The Chinese government is trying to wipe out poverty in the country by the end of this century with help from foreign governments and financial institutions. Picture taken 17SEP98. ASW/KK/WS