[Photo via VCG]

The results of Beijing's 2025 water monitoring were recently released, covering 146 water bodies (including the city's major rivers, lakes, and reservoirs). The results show that Beijing in 2025 had 168 rivers with flowing water, 50 more than the previous year, with a total length of 3,511.62 kilometers, increasing by 601.44 kilometers. Notably, 137 water bodies were rated as "healthy", accounting for 93.8 percent of the total – exceeding 90 percent for the first time. This signals a steady improvement in the city's overall aquatic ecological health.

The monitoring recorded 78 species of fish (four more compared with the previous year), 486 species of phytoplankton (an increase of 27 year-on-year), and 387 species of large benthic invertebrates (an increase of 149 year-on-year). In addition, a total of 120 aquatic macrophyte species have been observed in the city, 27 more than in 2024, with widely distributed species including reeds, cattails, and hornwort.

Due to years of systematic protection and restoration, the structure and functions of Beijing's aquatic ecosystems have undergone a fundamental transformation. River ecosystems have achieved a critical shift from an algae-dominated turbid state, where phytoplankton was the dominant component, to a macrophyte-dominated clear-water state, where submerged vegetation is dominant. Water self-purification capacity, water quality stability, and ecological service functions have all significantly improved. Furthermore, while continuing to fulfill core functions such as flood control and water supply, lake and reservoir ecosystems have gradually become highly biodiverse areas, nurturing abundant aquatic biological resources and becoming composite ecosystems with stable structures and well‑integrated functions.

(Source: People's Daily Online)