Yongding River is located in the southwest of Beijing and is known as the "mother river" of Beijing. It was called Luoshui in ancient times.

The Commentary on the Water Classic (Chinese: 水经注), or Commentaries on the Water Classic,  commonly known as Shui Jing Zhu, compiled by Li Daoyuan during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 AD), described the Yongding River water system in detail. It is one of the earliest literature records of Yongding River found in China.

The source of Yongding River is located in Shanxi Province. It flows through Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Beijing, and Tianjin, and finally empties into the Bohai Sea. The river is over 740 kilometers long and is the largest river in the northern part of the Haihe River system, with a drainage area of 47,016 square kilometers.

The Shanxi and Inner Mongolia regions in the upper reaches of Yongding River are located between the Taihang Mountains, Yin Mountains, and Yan Mountains. The Loess Plateau at an altitude of 1500 meters has sparse vegetation, steep terrain, and extremely harsh climatic conditions, forming a very extensive sand-producing area. Severe soil desertification became a major source of sediment in Yongding River. Due to frequent floods and changes in the river channel, Yongding River was also commonly known as "Wuding River" (Unstable River). In the 37th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1698), the Qing court dredged the river channel and reinforced the embankment, and it was renamed from "Wuding River" to "Yongding River" (Forever Stable River).

After 1949, the government built the Guanting Reservoir in the upper reaches of Yongding River and diverted the water into Beijing. The beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers, the rich human history and natural landscape along Yongding River are also attracting more and more people to visit.

Yongding River Cultural Museum

The predecessor of Yongding River Cultural Museum was Mentougou District Museum, which was the first comprehensive museum at the district and county level in Beijing with geographical characteristics. It has been established for nearly 40 years. In August 2011, the museum was renamed "Yongding River Cultural Museum".

Yongding River Cultural Museum is divided into three exhibition halls. "Mentougou from History" displays more than 700 cultural relics and materials related to historical customs discovered and preserved in Mentougou District since the founding of New China. "Exhibition of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression History in Pingxi " systematically and comprehensively displays the story of the Pingxi resistance base. There is also a temporary exhibition hall that holds different types of special exhibitions every year.

The museum will further strengthen the collection of Yongding River culture and local cultural materials and relics, and strive to increase the total number of relics in the collection to 10,000, entering the ranks of intermediate museums in the Beijing area.

Address: No. 8 Mentougou Road, Mentougou District, Beijing

Lugou Bridge

Lugou Bridge on the Yongding River was built in the 29th year of Jin Dynasty's Dading era (1189) and completed in the third year of Jin Dynasty's Mingchang era (1192). It is the most complete 11-arch stone bridge in North China. Since its completion, it has gone through more than 800 years of history.

As early as the 13th century, the fame of Lugou Bridge had spread to Europe. In Marco Polo's travelogue, he highly praised the charm of Lugou Bridge, calling it "one of the most beautiful bridges in the world". "Lugou Xiaoyue" (The Moon over the Lugou Bridge at Dawn) is also very famous as one of the "Eight Great Sceneries of Yanjing".

Lugou Bridge is not only a bridge of history, art, and culture, but also a bridge of heroes. On July 7, 1937, Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China here, known as the "Lugou Bridge Incident" (also known as the "July 7th Incident"). The Chinese army fired the first shot of full-scale Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression at Lugou Bridge.

Address: Across from Wanping City West Gate,, Fengtai District, Beijing

Yongding River Leisure Forest Park

Yongding River Leisure Forest Park opened to the public for free on April 28, 2013.The park is located on the south bank of Yongding River in the Nandahuang Beach area, 18 kilometers away from the city center. The park is adjacent to the Fifth Ring Road to the east and Lianshi West Road to the north, and faces the Beijing Garden Expo Park across the river. 

The park uses sculptures, stone tablets, landscape walls, paving and other forms to embellish the connotation of Yongding River culture, and integrates cultural atmosphere into a harmonious and natural leisure environment. Yongding River Leisure Forest Park is a non-profit urban park that is open to the public for free. With its beautiful environment, it has created a pleasant and natural fitness and leisure activity place for the general public.

The park covers an area of 121 hectares and mainly consists of the main entrance area, Yongding River Cultural Square, Riverside Scenic Belt, Malus Valley as part of ten major attractions.

In the golden autumn season, most of the leaves in the park become colorful, bursting with the warmth accumulated in spring and grown in summer. The red fruits of the honeysuckle show the autumn harvest vividly. The maple trees at this time are like fairy trees covered in gold foil, and every leaf flaunts its golden color in the sunshine. Various flowers and golden leaves form an extremely rich and colorful scenery from near to far. The remaining lotus in the lake adds a touch of elegance to this autumn scene.

Address: No. 55 Jingyuan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing

Beijing Winter Olympics Park

The Beijing Winter Olympics Park is located in the western part of Shijingshan District, along the Yongding River. The park covers a total area of about 1,142 hectares and is the largest urban leisure park in the western part of the capital. It combines multiple elements such as "Winter Olympics", "sports", "mountains and waters", and "Shougang industry", forming an urban waterfront open space with a harmonious blend of water and greenery and urban scenery. The park was named as a popular tourist destination in Beijing for 2022, and every corner is worth exploring.

Walking in the park, visitors will find various sculptures and installations distributed along the paths on both sides. These sculptures and installations were selected from 1,611 entries from more than 50 countries and regions, incorporating the concept of the intelligent Winter Olympics and adding an artistic atmosphere to the park.

In autumn, visitors to the Beijing Winter Olympics Park can enjoy the beautiful scenery of colorful leaves, characteristic pine forests, and natural landscapes such as flower seas and Lianhu Autumn Moon. The yellow leaves of the cotinus coggygria on both sides of the west bank of Lianshi Lake are at their best, with full red leaves shining brightly in the sunlight, and clear leaf veins visible. The colorful leaves falling with the wind are gorgeous, like a red carpet spread on the road, becoming a brilliant avenue of autumn colors.

Walking on the small path on the east bank of Lianshi Lake, the golden ginkgo leaves on both sides of the road shimmer in the sunlight, providing a stunning autumn scenery for the ancient Fensha Railway. The yellow and green leaves are dotted on both sides of the public space of the Train Park on the left bank, creating a picturesque autumn scenery.

The Rhus Typhina on the northwest side of Shougang Bridge grows particularly lush, with tall trunks, sturdy branches, and bright red fruits densely covering the tree. When the autumn wind blows, the clusters of red spikes on the top of the tree sway and roll like burning torches dancing up and down. The bright red leaves grow evenly on the branches, like clusters of burning torches, making the autumn scenery colorful and splendid.

Address: Intersection of Hedong Road and Jingyuan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing