In July this year, the national second-class key protected plant “Batrachium pekinense” achieved its first wild flowering in the North Han River South Branch Gully in Haidian District. This marks the first successful return of the species to its native habitat since it was last monitored in Haidian in 1991. Its pure white blossoms quietly bloomed among the clear streams, signifying a historic breakthrough in Haidian District's aquatic ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation work.
“Batrachium pekinense” belongs to the genus “Batrachium” in the family Ranunculaceae. It is a perennial submerged herbaceous plant and the only aquatic group among Beijing's endemic type-locality protected plants. The species was first discovered in 1831 at Phoenix Ridge in Haidian. In the 1970s, it was mainly distributed in the valley streams of Haidian District and the Nankou to Juyongguan area of Changping District.
It has extremely stringent requirements for water body environmental quality, growing only in clear, flowing water systems, and is acclaimed by the academic community as an indicator species for excellent water quality, holding significant ecological monitoring value. In September 2021, “Batrachium pekinense” was formally included in the “National Key Protected Wild Plants” list, with its rarity and conservation status formally confirmed by law.
However, with rapid urban development and ecological environmental changes, this rare species gradually disappeared from Haidian District and was not sighted for many years. To preserve the local aquatic ecological heritage and explore water culture connotations, the Haidian District Water Affairs Bureau, in collaboration with a research team, launched a four-year specialized study. The research team systematically surveyed wild habitats, overcame technical challenges in artificial cultivation, and scientifically implemented ex-situ conservation, ultimately achieving the successful reconstruction of the wild population of this rare species in the North Han River South Branch Gully in July this year, bringing back the sight of blooming flowers.
In recent years, rare species have been successively rediscovered in multiple water bodies across Haidian District. In September 2023, the Beijing key protected aquatic animal “Hemibarbus maculatus” was recorded in the North Han River for the first time, representing the first discovery of this species in Haidian's fish surveys in nearly three decades.
Rare birds such as the Baer's Pochard and the Black Stork also forage here. In 2024, the critically endangered “Libellula angelina” (Low-spotted Skimmer), listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, reappeared in the northern Sha River of Haidian.
In September 2025, the Haidian District Water Affairs Bureau's aquatic ecosystem health monitoring team recorded “Atrocalopteryx atrata” in the Jin River for the first time. This species has extremely high requirements for water quality and serves as an important indicator of ecological environmental health. Species monitoring showed that the Atrocalopteryx atrata not only foraged there but also rarely completed mating and egg-laying, indicating that the aquatic ecosystem functions in this area are well-developed.
The continuous improvement of regional water ecological environment quality has led to the successive return of rare species.
The sustained improvement of the aquatic ecosystem stems from Haidian District's persistent systematic governance and scientific policy implementation. Previously, Haidian District focused on advancing water system governance in the Three Hills and Five Gardens area. The two major district circulation water networks have been largely perfected, achieving comprehensive regional water replenishment. Relying on a scientifically designed water network circulation system, multiple rivers and channels have completed ecological quality upgrades.
▲ Downstream of the Jin River
In recent years, Haidian District has comprehensively advanced water environment governance through a trinity strategy of “replenishment, management, and treatment, ” building a full-chain, multi-dimensional water ecological protection system. Currently, the district's river section water quality compliance rate and proportion of excellent water bodies both maintain 100%. The water quality of eight major rivers has stably reached Class II and above standards. The Qing River has successively been named a Beijing “Happy River and Lake” and a national “Beautiful River and Lake” outstanding case. All 41 rivers and channels in the district have achieved full coverage of ecological water replenishment, and six major ecological circulation water replenishment networks have been fully completed, forming an ecological water network pattern of clear water flowing freely and vibrant vitality.
▲ The North Han River, the Water Body Where “Batrachium pekinense” Was Rediscovered
The reappearance of “Batrachium pekinense” in Haidian not only provides a technical paradigm for aquatic plant conservation and water ecological governance, but also marks that Haidian's water ecological restoration is steadily leaping from the quantitative stage of “engineering compliance” to the qualitative transformation stage of “ecological quality enhancement. ” Moving forward, Haidian District will continue to expand propagation planting, deepen scientific management and protection, and push water ecological restoration to a higher level, allowing more “original inhabitants” to return to their homeland and find nests to rely on, enabling urban rivers to welcome more “new members, ” and contributing to the steady and sustained high-quality development of the regional water ecology.
