About 13 square kilometers of wetlands have been restored in northwestern Beijing during the past decade, and the flourishing flora has attracted many birds, a local wetland management office said Monday.

According to October's data, a total of 295 species of birds, 53 of which are nationally protected, were found in Yeya (Wild Duck) Lake Wetland Reserve in the capital's suburban Yanqing district. This includes about 20,000 wild ducks and 32 types of geese.

A total of 62 species of birds, including cranes, eagles and gulls, were first seen in the wetland over the past 10 years. The white crane, a nationally protected bird never before seen in Beijing, was first spotted in the park in 2013.

One hundred and fifteen kinds of plants, including bladderwort, the only carnivorous plant in northern China, started growing in the reserve, the office said.

Yeya Lake Reserve became Beijing's first national wetland conservation area in 1997. It functions as an ecological defense to Beijing, protecting the city's water source and providing a habitat for wild animals.

Although known as a dry city, Beijing has been making more efforts to nurture its environment.

Baoding, a Hebei Province city southwest of Beijing, will join hands with Beijing's Fangshan district to turn the region's rivers, forests and wetland into a national park over the next three years, the local government said in October.