A bird's-eye view of Dongping Lake, one of the 39 beautiful rivers and lakes in China. [Photo/Tai'an Daily]

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently announced that Dongping Lake in Tai'an's Dongping county was selected as one of the 39 beautiful rivers and lakes in China. 

Dongping Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in Shandong province. It occupies 626 square kilometers and has a water surface area of 208 sq km. 

The lake is the only flood control and water storage area in the Yellow River Basin and an important regulating reservoir for the eastern route of the South-North Water Diversion project. 

Due to the discharge of industrial and domestic wastewater, net cage aquaculture, and reclamation activities, the water quality of some areas in the lake had started deteriorating starting in the 1980s, resulting in shrinking wetland areas and a decrease in biodiversity. 

To address this issue, Dongping county rolled out several measures, including the demolition of illegal buildings and livestock and poultry farms in the Yellow River floodplain area, reforestation efforts on barren hills, ecological restoration of mining areas, and introducing water diversion projects. 

Due to these efforts, the water quality of Dongping Lake has improved and is currently of Class III surface water standards. The improvement of the ecological environment has also attracted new birds like Baer's Pochard, a globally endangered species and a first-class protected animal in China.

Tai'an has in recent years undertaken 26 water environment projects that have resulted in the restoration of 800 hectares of artificial wetlands and the dredging of over 150 kilometers of rivers, including the Dawen River, Chaiwen River, and Haizi River.