Beijing Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park

Beijing Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park

Beijing Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a national wetland park, and a national nature reserve.

Wild Duck Lake is located in the northwest of Yanqing County, Beijing, within the transitional zone from the North China Plain to the Shanxi Plateau and Inner Mongolia Plateau. It borders the Yanshan Mountain Range to the north, the Taihang Mountain Range to the south, adjoins Huailai County of Hebei Province to the southwest, and faces the majestic Badaling Great Wall to the southeast.

Beijing Wild Duck Lake is an artificial wetland formed by the submerged areas and mudflats below 479m elevation around the Yanqing jurisdiction of Guanting Reservoir. After over 50 years of development, it has evolved into a wetland ecosystem rich in flora and fauna, with high biodiversity and stability, making it one of the most important bird habitats in the Beijing region and even the North China region.

In July 1997, the Yanqing County People's Government approved the establishment of a county-level nature reserve at Wild Duck Lake, which was designated as a municipal-level reserve by the Beijing Municipal Government in December 2000. The total area of the reserve is 6,873 hectares, including 3,939 hectares of wetland, making it Beijing’s only wetland bird nature reserve.

Highlights of Wild Duck Lake

1. Plant Viewing

In early spring, a myriad of flowers bloom competitively, willows turn green, and the area is vibrant with the vitality of spring. In summer, lotus flowers stand elegantly, and reeds are lush and emerald green, complementing the blue waters. In autumn, golden wild chrysanthemums, pale purple alkali asters, white reed spikes, and brown cattail fruits sway in the sunset, creating a lakeside fairyland. In winter, floating catkins and rustling reeds resemble snow, offering a unique charm.

2. Bird Watching

During winter and spring, graceful swans glide on the water, cranes call out loudly, great bustards feed peacefully, eagles and falcons soar through the sky, and flocks of geese and ducks fly overhead, forming a harmonious and beautiful scene. In summer and autumn, herons and cranes gather to forage by the water, wild ducks move through the reed marshes, and gulls dance in the air, presenting another picturesque view.

Bird watching has become one of the most popular tourist activities today.

3. Scenic Viewing

Wild Duck Lake features distinct seasons and unique landscapes. In spring, snow melts, life awakens, plants bloom successively, and animals become active. In summer, everything is lush green, with reeds and cattails growing tall and sprouting spikes, while birds sing their mating songs. In autumn, migratory birds arrive at Wild Duck Lake with their young. In winter, the area is covered in snow, and large flocks of grey cranes, larks, and others come to spend the winter, adding vitality to the landscape.

The wetland vegetation of Wild Duck Lake is characterized by a wide variety of species and rich biodiversity. According to statistics, there are 389 species of higher plants in 231 genera and 89 families in the wetland, accounting for 52.7%, 26.6%, and 18.9% of Beijing’s total in terms of families, genera, and species, respectively. These include 16 species of bryophytes (belonging to 9 families and 9 genera), 8 species of ferns (belonging to 5 families and 5 genera), 7 species of gymnosperms (belonging to 3 families and 5 genera), and 358 species of angiosperms (belonging to 72 families and 212 genera).

The wetland vegetation of Wild Duck Lake can be preliminarily divided into three vegetation type groups: swamp-type group, shallow-water plant wetland-type group, and salt marsh plant-type group, comprising seven vegetation types, and belonging to 32 formation groups and 62 formation (community) types.

The vegetation of Wild Duck Lake is currently undergoing a slow evolutionary process of lakeshore swampification. That is, under the shallow water conditions of gradually sloping lake shores from the banks toward the center of the lake, different aquatic plant communities—emergent, floating, and submerged—grow according to the depth of the water, displaying a zonal distribution.

Scenic Area Rating: 4A

Scenic Area Category: Natural

Opening Hours: Early March to the end of October each year

Address: North of Liuhao Camp Village, Kangzhuang Town, Yanqing County

Phone: 69131226

Price: 50 RMB per person

Transportation

By Car: Take the Jingzang Expressway, exit at Kangzhuang, and follow the scenic area signs for 10 minutes to arrive

By Public Transport: Take Bus 919 to Yanqing County, then transfer to Bus 920 Loop Line for a 20-minute ride to reach the site