A severe drought in northern China in 1921 caused tens of thousands of children to starve to death. Peasant children starved to death on the roadside, their bodies strewn about. None of those who starved to death along the way were buried. The bodies were exposed in the wilderness.

　　A severe drought in northern China in 1921 caused tens of thousands of children to starve to death. Children of peasants starved to death on roadsides, their bodies strewn about. Villages and towns were sparsely populated and houses stood in a state of decay. Refugees fleeing the famine fled, unable to maintain a minimum standard of living. The lives of the elderly, sick, disabled, and children became even more precarious. Statistics show that by mid-May 1921, 12,377 children had died of starvation. The number of trafficked persons was approximately 5,057. The fees were low, ranging from a minimum of 1 yuan to a maximum of 50 yuan per child.

　　By mid-May 1921, children and others were starving to death as a result of Zhang Zuolin's armed policy to rectify the policy of integrating and enriching the three northeastern provinces of China. according to the "Declaration" dated May 19, 1921, famine in northern China worsened as a result of continued drought after spring 1921. The famine in five counties, including Tangshan and Neiren, became particularly severe, and children were trafficked for as little as 1 yuan. Wherever they went, they were stripped of their tree bark and eaten clean. No one who died of starvation along the way was buried. The bodies were exposed in the wilderness. In the fields, the harvest withered away and there was not a trace of green.

　　A drought that began in 1920 in North China triggered the Great North China Famine, which affected about 20 million people and killed about 500,000. Farming villages in the vast region were plagued by the famine. China was not politically unified, and military regimes intervened in the provinces. Inside the Beijing government, the Jiaoxi War broke out from July 14 to July 19, 1920, in the famine-stricken areas. On the other hand, the Cantonese military government was also divided. The Anhui faction Duan Qirui and the Jiaoxun faction Cao Qi fought in the North China region for the leadership of the Beijing government. The Anhui faction suffered a crushing defeat in the Jikan War, and Duan Qirui's government collapsed. In the Second Mukden War on September 15, 1924, Jang Gao-tsu-gun seized control of the Beiyang government. Manchuria, and on June 4, 1928, the Japanese Kwantung Army assassinated him in the Jangsu Gutun bombing to gain control of Manchuria.