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Qi stream, Beijing, China

China, Beijing, Huairou

Qi stream is a shallow stream located at the downstream of Shentangyu Natural Scenic Area. This is a region of Huairou district, Beijing city in China. This part of the stream, with a few small waterfall and a lot of aquatic plants, has become an inspiration to create this biotope. Among many species of fishes, Squalidus argentatus is my favorate fish, though it is not the one with largest population size at this location.

Submitted by: Siyi Wang
Approved by: Sun Kai & Zhou Hang

GPS: 40.4272804, 116.6363297

Geographical region: Eastern Asia
Drainage Basin
River catchment
Water body type: Stream
Water body name: Qi Stream
Water body part
Water body course
Water body: tributary of
Tributary name

Videos above and below water

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Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type: fresh-water
Water color: Clear water
Water transparency: Medium
Concentration of sediments: Medium
Water temperature: 18 °C
Water flow/curent: Strong

Chemical parameters

pH: 7.0
Conductivity
GH
dGH
KH
dKH
Dissolved Oxygen: 60 %

Substrate in nature

Sand: Beige
Pebble/Gravel: Mixed
Stone: Mixed
Stone form: Roundish
Silt/Mud: Brown
Leaves: Few
Driftwood: Few
Submerged terrestrial vegetation: None

Aquatic Biotope

Date of collecting: 16 May, 2025
Collecting area: Middle waters
Water depth: 0,5m
Air temperature: 26 °C
Sunlight: Full sun

Environment

Environment

Human settlements

Human settlements

Compacted

Surrounding area

My site of biotope is located at the upper course of Qi Stream, near Shentangyu Natural Scenic Area. It is an important part of Beijing’s wetland ecosystem and Beijing’s weather. Around it, a special tourist environment consists of fishing, camping, dabbling, and food like roast fish has also established in recent years.

Underwater landscape

There are quite a lot of aquatic vegetation inhabit in this stream, mainly grasses and reeds, like most streams in similar climate. There are many stones lie on the sandy riverbed, with algae covered. Besides, what’s most fascinating is the shallow coast regions, with several kinds of plants and shoals of fish larvae swimming together. The clear, slightly shaded water shows the full color palette of fish living in these areas.

Fish list:

Zacco sinensis (Cyprinidae)
Squalidus argentatus (Cyprinidae)
Pseudorasbora parva (Cyprinidae)
Botia superciliaris (Cobitidae)
Micropercops swinhonis (Cobitidae)
Rana taihangensis (Ranidae)

Aquatic plant list:

Myriophyllum spicatum L. (Haloragaceae)
Potamogeton wrightii Morong (Potamogetonaceae)

Wetland plant list:

Phragmites australis (Poaceae)

Threats to ecology

Wetland is one of the crucial component of Beijing’s ecosystem and aquatic system. Other than serving as water reservoirs, wetlands also provide significant benefit on biodiversity, as evident by tens or hundreds of kinds of fish, birds, insects, and amphibians, and many among which are regional endemic species.

Riparian zone

Trees near the aquatic habitat: Many -

Bibliography

Chemical Industry Press - China Native Fish by Zhigang Zhang, Zhengmeng Yang, Kai h=Huang, Hao Luo
Change of Beijing's native fish diversity in recent century by Yahui Zhao
Explore the distribution and influencing factors of fish in the main rivers of Beijing based on eDNA metabarcoding by Mei Shen, Ningning Guo, Zunlan Luo, Xiaochen Guo, Guang Sun, Nengwen Xiao
A collection of original color pictures of freshwater fish in China by Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Museum of Natural History