Ecological Restoration of Daheihe River in Inner Mongolia

The Dahaihe River is located in the northwest of China's Loess Plateau. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River water system flowing through the Hetao Plain. It is the "mother river" of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Additionally, it is located in the East Asia-Australia international migration line, and is an important biological migration corridor and water sponge corridor. The project is focus on west part of Daheihe River with a total length of 12.9 kilometers.



The present situation is characterized by large trees, rich landforms and diverse land use types. However, the disorderly sand mining activities have increasingly eroded ecological resources such as water systems, wetlands and forestlands. It due to serious soil erosion, soil desertification, destruction of biological habitat and lack of cultural and tourism resources.



Daheihe Country Park is a typical demonstration section of river ecological management. The design focuses on four aspects: biodiversity conservation, sponge ecology construction, enhancement of recreational functions, and integration of rural culture and tourism. A 490-hectare open reserve is established along the 12.9-kilometer Daheihe River.



With the improvement of natural habitat as the core and preserving the current topography and vegetation to the maximum extent, a series of measures such as river dredging, water body restoration, vegetation restoration and insect hotel are implemented to achieve biodiversity enhancement and enrichment of waterfront vegetation community.



One year after its construction, thousands of Class II national protected animals - shelduck came here to roost. Many kinds of birds live together here, which fully shows that the Dahaihe River has successfully transformed from a polluted and damaged river into a highly adaptive ecosystem, providing a model for ecological restoration in the arid areas of the northwest.



Combined with the trend of suburban recreation and eco-tourism in recent years, the design provides urban residents with better countryside sightseeing destinations, improves the infrastructure of surrounding villages. At the same time, it drives the renewal of villages and brings more employment opportunities to villagers.