Rain...

...Maker

Beijing received its first rain on February 12th after 110 days - a 38-year record.
2008 marked the 8th consecutive year of drought in Beijing and things are even worse in the surrounding provinces, with at least 9.53 million hectares of farmland affected

The government had - for the first time during a Beijing winter - performed cloud seeding by both plane and rocket. Previously, it had done so only from the ground.
By 5 pm, 12 silver iodide rockets had been launched into the skies of Beijing's suburban […] districts. The local air force had also dispatched a transport plane to release 400 liters of liquid nitrogen in northern Beijing.
Twenty-one rocket launch bases in the city and 25 ground precipitation enhancement facilities in the mountains of eight districts were used to seed the clouds.
These actions could increase rainfall by 10 to 15 percent. The precipitation enhancement involved at least 200 people.

Rain, rain make it rain