[4] Guanting Reservoir is located at the junction of Beijing and Hebei Province,[5] mostly in Huailai County, Hebei Province, and a small part in Yanqing County, Beijing.

[6] The reservoir is named after the dam built near the Guanting Town (官厅镇).

Guanting Reservoir started construction in October 1951[7] and was completed on 13 May 1954,[8] with the main flow of water being the Yongding River in Huailai.

The reservoir covers an area of 230 square kilometers and has a total storage capacity of 2.2 billion cubic meters.

[9] Guanting Reservoir was a major source of fresh water for Beijing[10] and neighboring regions.