Beijing has seen its desertified land shrink by 1,613 hectares, a drop of three percentage points than five years ago.

A report released by the municipal horticulture and afforestation bureau Saturday shows that 92 percent of the city's largest piece of eroded land around Yongding River has been put under control from further expansion in the past five years.

Beijing, the host of the 2008 Olympic Games, has been frequently hit by sandstorms over recent years. Previous reports said that deserts in the north of the city had been expanding rapidly.

Li Jinhai, an official with the bureau, said that Beijing's three major waterways, Yongding, Chaohe and Wenyu rivers, used to be coasted by 54,621 hectares of desertified land.

Tree and grass planting has stopped 49,856 hectares, or 92 percent of the city's total, from further eroding, and 1,613 hectares have been restored into green land, he said.