The lake surface area of Daihai in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has reached 64.1 square kilometers, marking its highest level in nearly a decade.

Daihai, located in Liangcheng county of Ulaanqab city, is the third-largest inland lake in Inner Mongolia. It plays an important role in regulating the climate and conserving water resources in the region.

In recent years, Inner Mongolia has intensified its ecological restoration efforts in the Daihai Lake basin, adopting a systematic approach to protection and management. Authorities have shifted from single-lake treatment to integrated watershed governance, strengthening both upstream control and shoreline restoration.

Since an ecological emergency water replenishment project began operation in September 2022, more than 63.17 million cubic meters of water have been diverted into the lake.

The water level in surrounding groundwater zones has remained stable, vegetation coverage has increased, and bird diversity has risen from 68 to 110 species. Rare birds such as the great bustard and red-crowned crane have also been increasingly observed.

In addition to water replenishment, a series of comprehensive measures – including agricultural and industrial water-saving programs, ecological restoration, river dredging, and pollution control initiatives – have been implemented to improve water volume and ecological quality in the basin.