On May 12, 2022, Yongding River, the mother river of Beijing, flowed for the first time for decades through its full watercourse, passing the provincial regions of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin before entering the Bohai Sea. The banks are covered in green trees and echo to the sound of birds. Some 2.15 billion cubic meters of water was diverted from the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers to end the watercourse’s drought. The water is expected to keep flowing for at least 100 days in 2022 and constant flow should be restored by 2035. Improvements in water quality allow Guanting Reservoir on the Yongding River to resume its long-lost role in Beijing’s drinkable water system. Joint efforts such as Shanxi’s eco-friendly agricultural development, Beijing’s interdisciplinary research as well as the preservation of riverside cultural heritage have paid off.
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