Beijing's waterways buzz with summer leisure as parks extend boating hours

Beijing's rivers and lakes are drawing crowds seeking relief from the summer heat with various water activities and extended business hours.

The Liangma River, a key section of Beijing's Grand Canal cultural belt, connects the embassy district, international business zone and waterfront living spaces.

In summertime, the river offers paddleboarding, kayaking, and swimming along a roughly one-kilometer stretch where hundreds of visitors take to the water daily to catch the evening breeze and sunset.

"I think it's great — you don't need to travel far to experience nature. It's right here in the city, not far from home. It feels really nice," a visitor said.

Meanwhile, several city parks have extended boat operating hours until 19:00 or 20:00 to let visitors catch the summer twilight.

At the Summer Palace, daily boat ridership has peaked at 30,000 this summer, with the extended hours allowing more visitors to catch the "golden hour" around sunset.

"We saw a lot of people taking boats over there, so we came to ask, and they said we could just make it," said tourist Wang Wanqiu.

China leads the world in direct utilization of geothermal energy, with its geothermal heating and cooling area reaching 1.65 billion square meters, according to the China Geological Survey (CGS) on Sunday.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), the country will focus on three geothermal regions -- north China, northeast China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as four geothermal belts including the southeastern coastal area, to identify target zones for exploration and development, the CGS said.

Geothermal energy is a stable, low-carbon renewable resource with substantial reserves and high efficiency. China has long maintained the world's leading position in the scale of direct geothermal energy utilization.