In Depth: North China’s Rising Water Table Springs an Urban Leak

After nearly three decades laying bone dry, the riverbeds and springs in Dabeiwu village are flowing again.

“Spring water is bubbling up again. I came over to have a look,” a villager in Beijing’s northern Shunyi district told local reporters in November 2025, gazing at the area’s once-depleted Jinjitang Spring. “It’s still so clear — the Jinjitang Spring I remember has come back.”