Beijing to restore ecological environment of Yongding River

Beijing gave the green light to an ecological restoration project of the Yongding River, Beijing Evening News reported on Friday.

A total of 91 km of the river and areas along it will undergo comprehensive treatment and ecological restoration from October.

Yongding River flows through north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shanxi Province, Hebei Province, and cities of Beijing and Tianjin, covering 759 km. The river section in Beijing is 170 km long, with a basin area of 3,200 square km.

About 85.3 hectares of wetlands and 25 km of bank slopes will be restored, with four villages to be protected and 19 submersible bridges to be rebuilt.

The restoration project will set up nature reserves far from villages and towns, said the report. Human activities and weeds will be controlled inside the reserves.

Besides the development of three other wetlands, the project will rebuild the riverfront, improve water quality and biodiversity along the river.

The restoration project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.