[1] The Beijing municipal government has invested 16 billion yuan in an effort to replace the riverbed with parkland or smaller bodies of water.

When the Kangxi Emperor reigned, he enacted various hydraulic engineering projects in the region to rein in the seasonal flooding.

In the Western Han dynasty, the river flowed south from Deshengmen through what is now downtown Beijing, including Qianmen and Hongqiao and Longtan Lake, before leaving to the southeast.

In the Liao dynasty, the river moved southwest to its present course, and the Lugou Bridge was built over it in 1189.

In 1698, the Qing dynasty Kangxi Emperor's government reinforced the river banks and rendered the current course permanent.