Over a thousand hectares（公顷）of farmland will be changed to wetland to help make the water clean at Baiyangdian Lake, North China's largest freshwater wetland.
Baiyangdian Lake, in the Xiong'an New Area of Hebei Province, is made up of 143 small lakes divided by wetlands and covering 366 square kilometers. It is known as the “kidney（肾）” of North China because it improves the environment.
Ge Zhanguo, a villager in Anxin county, is hoping conditions return to those of his childhood when he and his friends played in the water, swam or even caught fish in Baiyangdian.
He recently returned his 5,300 square meters of farmland to the local government to change it to wetlands, according to Hebei Daily.
Among many measures taken to reach the goal, the area launched（实行）a project in July to restore（恢复）two wetlands by changing the area's farmlands to wetlands. The project is expected to be finished next year.
There are two major rivers whose water runs into Baiyangdian, but a big part of its water was polluted by the factories in upstream areas, making them major sources of pollution. The restored wetlands can make lots of water clean each day and the quality of water coming into Baiyangdian will be greatly improved.
Next year, another 6,000 hectares of farmland will be restored to wetland at Baiyangdian. And many other projects are underway to restore the lake's environment.
