A dispute between two villages over irrigation water that lasted some 300 years has finally come to a peaceful resolution and a ceremony was held to mark the historic reconciliation on May 1.

For some 300 years, villagers from the two villages of Wushan and Yuepu in Quanzhou City, southeastern China’s Fujian province, strictly abided by their ancestors’ decree not to intermarry.

The dispute erupted over a stream from a nearby mountain, which both villages used to irrigate their crops, villagers say. During the dry season, both sides tried to divert the stream's water to their own land. That led to some quarrels among villagers and eventually between the two villages and both sides swore to never marry each other again.