The Khalkhyn gol is a river in eastern Mongolia and northern China. The length of the river is 232 km.
The Khalkha river is famous for the Battle of Khalkhyn Gol, where Soviet and Mongolian forces defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army in August 1939.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Kashgar River
The Kashgar is a river in the Xinjiang province of the . It has its sources in the eastern parts of the Pamir Mountains, in the border area between China and Tajikistan, and then flows eastwards, passing through the city of Kashgar, which gets its name from the river. The river then flows into the northwestern parts of the Taklamakan desert, to its confluence with the Yarkand River.
Jiulong River
The Jiulong River or Jiulong Jiang is the largest river in southern Fujian, and the second largest in Fujian, China. With a length of 258km and a basin of 14,700km?, its origin is within the of Longyan. It flows into the Taiwan Strait.
Jinsha River
Jinsha River is the westernmost of the major headwater streams of the Yangtze River, southwestern China.
Its headwaters rise in the Wulan and Kekexili ranges in western Qinghai province, to the south of the Kunlun Mountains, and on the northern slope of the Tanggula Mountains on the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The three principal headwaters — the Chumaer, Muluwusu, and Akedamu rivers — join to form the Tongtian River, which flows southeast to Zhimenda near the frontier between Qinghai and Sichuan provinces.
As the Jinsha River, it then flows south through a deep gorge parallel to the similar gorges of the upper Mekong and upper Salween rivers, from which it is separated by the Ningjing Mountains.
It forms the western border of Sichuan for some 250 miles and then flows into Yunnan province.
After a large, 200 miles long loop to the north of Dali Baizu Autonomous Prefecture, the Jinsha swings northeast, forming the Sichuan-Yunnan provincial boundary until it joins the Min River at Yibin in Sichuan to form the Yangtze.
The upper course of the river falls about 14 feet per mile .
Below Batang the gradient gradually decreases to about 8 feet per mile , but the Jinsha is unnavigable and in its upper course, through the gorges, is more of an obstacle than an aid to transportation.
Its headwaters rise in the Wulan and Kekexili ranges in western Qinghai province, to the south of the Kunlun Mountains, and on the northern slope of the Tanggula Mountains on the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The three principal headwaters — the Chumaer, Muluwusu, and Akedamu rivers — join to form the Tongtian River, which flows southeast to Zhimenda near the frontier between Qinghai and Sichuan provinces.
As the Jinsha River, it then flows south through a deep gorge parallel to the similar gorges of the upper Mekong and upper Salween rivers, from which it is separated by the Ningjing Mountains.
It forms the western border of Sichuan for some 250 miles and then flows into Yunnan province.
After a large, 200 miles long loop to the north of Dali Baizu Autonomous Prefecture, the Jinsha swings northeast, forming the Sichuan-Yunnan provincial boundary until it joins the Min River at Yibin in Sichuan to form the Yangtze.
The upper course of the river falls about 14 feet per mile .
Below Batang the gradient gradually decreases to about 8 feet per mile , but the Jinsha is unnavigable and in its upper course, through the gorges, is more of an obstacle than an aid to transportation.
Jin River (Sichuan)
The Jin River is a river of Sichuan, China. It flows through the provincial capital of Chengdu.
The river has a history of serious pollution which in the past has led to the river choking and flooding. The Anshun Bridge in Chengdu was once destroyed in the 1980s during a period of flooding and was only rebuilt in 2003, after the Chengdu Municipal People's Government undertook an extensive river-cleaning project in 1997. The Municipal People's Government was awarded a prize for improving the environment of the river, from the United Nations.
The river has a history of serious pollution which in the past has led to the river choking and flooding. The Anshun Bridge in Chengdu was once destroyed in the 1980s during a period of flooding and was only rebuilt in 2003, after the Chengdu Municipal People's Government undertook an extensive river-cleaning project in 1997. The Municipal People's Government was awarded a prize for improving the environment of the river, from the United Nations.
Jian River
The Jian River is a river in China, the headwater stream of Tongkou River . The Tongkou joins the Fu River which is a tributary of the Yangtze. The Jian River flows through Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, Sichuan. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake caused a landslide dam on the river which created Tangjiashan Lake. More than 100,000 people were evacuated downstream while a sluice was constructed.
Jialing River
The Jialing River is a tributary of the Yangtze River with its source in Gansu province. It gets its name from its crossing the Jialing Vale in Feng County of Shaanxi. It was once known as Langshui or Yushui .
The Jialing River is 1119 km long. Its headwaters are the Bailong River and Xihanshui. The stretch from the confluence of the two rivers at Lianghekou in Lueyang , Shaanxi, to Zhaohua is considered to be the upper reaches of the river. The middle course is between Zhaohua and Hechuan. Below Hechuan to where it joins the Yangtze in Chongqing is the lower reaches of the river.
The Jialing River's most notable characteristic is its sinuous course. From Zhangwang Miao in Guangyuan to Longdongtuo in Hechuan, the distance as the crow flies is only slightly more than 200 km. However the river itself travels over 600 km. The most tortuous part of its course is between Nanchong and Wusheng.
There are large number of tributaries along the Jialing. The largest tributaries include Fu Jiang and Qu Jiang, both of which flow into the Jialing at Hechuan.
*Guang'an
*Langzhong
*Nanchong
*Hechuan
*Chongqing
Overview
The Jialing River is 1119 km long. Its headwaters are the Bailong River and Xihanshui. The stretch from the confluence of the two rivers at Lianghekou in Lueyang , Shaanxi, to Zhaohua is considered to be the upper reaches of the river. The middle course is between Zhaohua and Hechuan. Below Hechuan to where it joins the Yangtze in Chongqing is the lower reaches of the river.
Characteristics
The Jialing River's most notable characteristic is its sinuous course. From Zhangwang Miao in Guangyuan to Longdongtuo in Hechuan, the distance as the crow flies is only slightly more than 200 km. However the river itself travels over 600 km. The most tortuous part of its course is between Nanchong and Wusheng.
Tributaries
There are large number of tributaries along the Jialing. The largest tributaries include Fu Jiang and Qu Jiang, both of which flow into the Jialing at Hechuan.
Major cities along the river
*Guang'an
*Langzhong
*Nanchong
*Hechuan
*Chongqing
Irtysh River
Irtysh a river in Siberia, the chief tributary of the . Its name means White River. It is actually longer than the Ob to their confluence. Irtysh's main affluent is Tobol River. The Ob-Irtysh form a major basin in Asia, encompassing most of Western Siberia and the Altay Mountains.
From its source as ''Kara-Irtysh'' in the Mongolian Altay mountains in Xinjiang, China, Irtysh flows NW through Lake Zaysan, Kazakhstan until it meets the near Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia, Russia after 4,248 km .
Passenger, freight boats and tankers navigate most of the river between April and October, when it is not frozen. Omsk is home to the headquarters of the state-owned Irtysh River Shipping Company, and the largest river port in Western Siberia. Major hydroelectric plants at and Bakhtarminsk use the Irtysh near the Kazakhstan-Chinese border.
Some of the Northern river reversal proposals, widely discussed in the 1960-70s, would see the direction of the Irtysh flow reversed, the river being used to supply water to central Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. While these gigantic water management schemes were not implemented, a smaller Irtysh-Karaganda irrigation canal was built between 1962 and 1974 to supply water to the dry Kazakstani Steppes, and to one of the country's main industrial centers, Karaganda. In 2002, pipelines were constructed to supply water from the canal to the Ishim River and Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.
In the 2000s, projects for diverting a significant amounts of Irtysh water within China, such as the proposed Black Irtysh - Karamai Canal, have been decried by Kazakh and Russian environmentalists.
The river banks were occupied by , Kalmyks, and Mongols until the Russians arrived in the late 16th century. The Russian conquest of the Irtysh basin was completed by the early 19th century.
The main cities on the Irtysh, from source to mouth, are:
* in Kazakhstan: , , Pavlodar.
* in Russia: Omsk, , Tobolsk, Khanty-Mansiysk.
Geography
From its source as ''Kara-Irtysh'' in the Mongolian Altay mountains in Xinjiang, China, Irtysh flows NW through Lake Zaysan, Kazakhstan until it meets the near Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia, Russia after 4,248 km .
Economic use
Passenger, freight boats and tankers navigate most of the river between April and October, when it is not frozen. Omsk is home to the headquarters of the state-owned Irtysh River Shipping Company, and the largest river port in Western Siberia. Major hydroelectric plants at and Bakhtarminsk use the Irtysh near the Kazakhstan-Chinese border.
Some of the Northern river reversal proposals, widely discussed in the 1960-70s, would see the direction of the Irtysh flow reversed, the river being used to supply water to central Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. While these gigantic water management schemes were not implemented, a smaller Irtysh-Karaganda irrigation canal was built between 1962 and 1974 to supply water to the dry Kazakstani Steppes, and to one of the country's main industrial centers, Karaganda. In 2002, pipelines were constructed to supply water from the canal to the Ishim River and Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.
In the 2000s, projects for diverting a significant amounts of Irtysh water within China, such as the proposed Black Irtysh - Karamai Canal, have been decried by Kazakh and Russian environmentalists.
History
The river banks were occupied by , Kalmyks, and Mongols until the Russians arrived in the late 16th century. The Russian conquest of the Irtysh basin was completed by the early 19th century.
Cities along the river
The main cities on the Irtysh, from source to mouth, are:
* in Kazakhstan: , , Pavlodar.
* in Russia: Omsk, , Tobolsk, Khanty-Mansiysk.
Hun River
Hun River is a river in Liaoning Province, China, and one of the tributaries of the Liao River. The Hun river was formerly known as Shen River .
Huangpu River
The Huangpu River is a 97km long river in China flowing through Shanghai.
Huangpu River used to be one branch of the . However, it has become the largest river in Shanghai, and Suzhou River became its branch.
It is an average of 400 meters wide and 9 meters deep. Shanghai gets most of its drinking water from Huangpu, which thus plays an important part for the metropolis. It divides the city into two regions: Pudong and Puxi .
The Bund in Shanghai is located along the river.
Other cities along the river include:
* Jiaxing
Huangpu River used to be one branch of the . However, it has become the largest river in Shanghai, and Suzhou River became its branch.
It is an average of 400 meters wide and 9 meters deep. Shanghai gets most of its drinking water from Huangpu, which thus plays an important part for the metropolis. It divides the city into two regions: Pudong and Puxi .
The Bund in Shanghai is located along the river.
Places along the river
Other cities along the river include:
* Jiaxing
Huan River
The Anyang River or Huan River in is a tributary of the Huang He. Yinxu, the capital of the Yin Dynasty, was built on its banks at the beginning of the 14th century B.C.E, near present-day Anyang.
Huai River
The Huai River is a major river in China. The Huai River is located about mid-way between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two largest rivers in China, and like them runs from west to east. However, the Huai River does not flow all the way to the sea, making it notoriously vulnerable to flooding.
The Huai River-Qinling Mountains line is regarded as the geographical dividing line between North China and South China. This line approximates the 0 degree January isotherm and the 800 mm isohyet in China.
The Huai river has a length of 1,078 kilometers and a drainage area of 174,000 square kilometers.
The Huai River originates in Tongbai Mountain in Henan province. It flows through southern Henan, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu, entering the Yangtze River at Jiangdu, Yangzhou.
Historically, the Huai River entered the Yellow Sea at Yuntiguan through a broad and level lower course. It was long used to irrigate the surrounding farmlands, and was the centre of an extensive network of canals and tributaries. Beginning in 1194, however, the Yellow River to the north repeatedly changed its course southwards to run into the Huai River. The resulting silting was so heavy that after the Yellow River changed back to its northerly course for the most recent time in 1897, the geography of the Huai River basin was changed significantly by the creation of new high lands, lakes, and the built up silt of the Yellow River's historical southern course. As a result, water from the mid-section of the river could not easily flow into the lower section, while water in the lower section could not find an outlet to the sea. The problem was exacerbated in the Second World War, when the government, in an attempt to check the pace of the invasion, flooded the lower Huai basin by opening the Yellow River's southern levee. The mainstem of the Yellow River flowed through the levee breach for the next nine years, further disrupting the Huai river system.
The result of these changes was that water from the Huai River pools up into into Lake Hongze, and then runs southwards towards the Yangtze River. Major and minor floods occurred frequently, with the area suffering droughts in between floods. In the 450 years to 1950, the Huai River saw, on average, 94 major floods per century.
Attempts to solve the Huai River's problems have focussed on building outlets for the Huai River into the Yangtze River and the sea. Currently, the major part of the river's waterflow enters the Yangtze River via Lake Hongze. The North Jiangsu Irrigation Main Channel also diverts some of its water along its old historical course to the sea, and is planned to be upgraded with a new parallel channel. Several former distributaries also carry some water to the sea.
The Huai River-Qinling Mountains line is regarded as the geographical dividing line between North China and South China. This line approximates the 0 degree January isotherm and the 800 mm isohyet in China.
The Huai river has a length of 1,078 kilometers and a drainage area of 174,000 square kilometers.
Course
The Huai River originates in Tongbai Mountain in Henan province. It flows through southern Henan, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu, entering the Yangtze River at Jiangdu, Yangzhou.
Historically, the Huai River entered the Yellow Sea at Yuntiguan through a broad and level lower course. It was long used to irrigate the surrounding farmlands, and was the centre of an extensive network of canals and tributaries. Beginning in 1194, however, the Yellow River to the north repeatedly changed its course southwards to run into the Huai River. The resulting silting was so heavy that after the Yellow River changed back to its northerly course for the most recent time in 1897, the geography of the Huai River basin was changed significantly by the creation of new high lands, lakes, and the built up silt of the Yellow River's historical southern course. As a result, water from the mid-section of the river could not easily flow into the lower section, while water in the lower section could not find an outlet to the sea. The problem was exacerbated in the Second World War, when the government, in an attempt to check the pace of the invasion, flooded the lower Huai basin by opening the Yellow River's southern levee. The mainstem of the Yellow River flowed through the levee breach for the next nine years, further disrupting the Huai river system.
The result of these changes was that water from the Huai River pools up into into Lake Hongze, and then runs southwards towards the Yangtze River. Major and minor floods occurred frequently, with the area suffering droughts in between floods. In the 450 years to 1950, the Huai River saw, on average, 94 major floods per century.
Attempts to solve the Huai River's problems have focussed on building outlets for the Huai River into the Yangtze River and the sea. Currently, the major part of the river's waterflow enters the Yangtze River via Lake Hongze. The North Jiangsu Irrigation Main Channel also diverts some of its water along its old historical course to the sea, and is planned to be upgraded with a new parallel channel. Several former distributaries also carry some water to the sea.
Hongshui River
The Hongshui River is a tributary of the in Southern China.
It has 10 large dams on it, that provide electric power and flood control.
Several of the dams are equipped with capable of lifting vessels of 300 tons displacement.
It has 10 large dams on it, that provide electric power and flood control.
Several of the dams are equipped with capable of lifting vessels of 300 tons displacement.
Han River (Hanshui)
The Han River in China was often referred to as Hànshǔi in antiquity. It is a left tributary of the Yangtze River with a length of 1532 km.
The Han River rises in southwestern Shaanxi and then crosses into Hubei. It merges with the Yangtze at Wuhan, a city of several million. The merging rivers divide the city of Wuhan into three areas, that of , Hankou, and Hanyang.
The Han River rises in southwestern Shaanxi and then crosses into Hubei. It merges with the Yangtze at Wuhan, a city of several million. The merging rivers divide the city of Wuhan into three areas, that of , Hankou, and Hanyang.
Hai River
The Hai River , previously called Bai He , is a river in China which flows through Beijing and Tianjin into the Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea.
The He River is formed at Tianjin by five rivers, the Southern Canal, Ziya River, Daqing River, Yongding River, and the Northern Canal. The southern and northern canals are parts of the . The Southern Canal is joined by Wei River at Linqing. The Northern Canal joins with the Bai He at . The Northern Canal is also the only waterway from the sea to Beijing. Therefore, the early westerns also called the Hai He as Bai He.
At Tianjin, through the , the Hai connects with the and rivers. The Hai He river systems was greatly modified by the Grand Canal. Before the Grand Canal, Wei River, Ziya River, Yongding River and Bai He used to have their own river mouths. When the Grand Canal was built, it cut through the lower reaches of these rivers to collect more water for sailing. Only one water outlet was left, which is the current course of the Hai He.
Hai He is 1,329 long from the longest tributary. However, from Tianjin to its mouth, Hai He is only around 70km. Its basin has an area of approximately 319,000 km? . Its annual flow is only half that of the Yellow River or one-thirtieth that of the Yangtze River.
Like the Yellow River, the Hai is exceedingly muddy because of the powdery soil through which it flows. The silt carried by the water deposites in the lower reach, sometimes causing water to overflow. The floods from the five major triburaries only has one shallow outlet to the sea, which makes the flood even stronger. Because China's capital and the second largest city Beijing, the third largest city Tianjin are both located in the Hai He Basin, Hai He flood will cause a significant loss. To allevate flooding, reservoirs are built and artificial channels dug to divert floods directly into the sea. For example, the Chaobai river is diverted to the Chaobai Xin river and is no longer joined with the Northern Canal.
In recent years, due to the industial and urban development in the Hai He basin, the volume of flow is greatly decreased. Many smaller triburary and some of the major triburaries dries out for the most of time during a year. The less water flow further worsens water pollution. The water shortage in the Hai He basin is expected to be solved by the South-North Water Transfer Project.
*Domagalski, J.L., et al. . ''Comparative water-quality assessment of the Hai He River basin in the People's Republic of China and three similar basins in the United States'' . Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
The He River is formed at Tianjin by five rivers, the Southern Canal, Ziya River, Daqing River, Yongding River, and the Northern Canal. The southern and northern canals are parts of the . The Southern Canal is joined by Wei River at Linqing. The Northern Canal joins with the Bai He at . The Northern Canal is also the only waterway from the sea to Beijing. Therefore, the early westerns also called the Hai He as Bai He.
At Tianjin, through the , the Hai connects with the and rivers. The Hai He river systems was greatly modified by the Grand Canal. Before the Grand Canal, Wei River, Ziya River, Yongding River and Bai He used to have their own river mouths. When the Grand Canal was built, it cut through the lower reaches of these rivers to collect more water for sailing. Only one water outlet was left, which is the current course of the Hai He.
Hai He is 1,329 long from the longest tributary. However, from Tianjin to its mouth, Hai He is only around 70km. Its basin has an area of approximately 319,000 km? . Its annual flow is only half that of the Yellow River or one-thirtieth that of the Yangtze River.
Like the Yellow River, the Hai is exceedingly muddy because of the powdery soil through which it flows. The silt carried by the water deposites in the lower reach, sometimes causing water to overflow. The floods from the five major triburaries only has one shallow outlet to the sea, which makes the flood even stronger. Because China's capital and the second largest city Beijing, the third largest city Tianjin are both located in the Hai He Basin, Hai He flood will cause a significant loss. To allevate flooding, reservoirs are built and artificial channels dug to divert floods directly into the sea. For example, the Chaobai river is diverted to the Chaobai Xin river and is no longer joined with the Northern Canal.
In recent years, due to the industial and urban development in the Hai He basin, the volume of flow is greatly decreased. Many smaller triburary and some of the major triburaries dries out for the most of time during a year. The less water flow further worsens water pollution. The water shortage in the Hai He basin is expected to be solved by the South-North Water Transfer Project.
Further reading
*Domagalski, J.L., et al. . ''Comparative water-quality assessment of the Hai He River basin in the People's Republic of China and three similar basins in the United States'' . Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
Gan River
The Gan River of southern China travels 885 km north through Jiangxi before flowing into Lake Poyang and thence into the Yangtze River. It is the major artery for Nanchang.
Fen River
The Fen River is a river in Shanxi Province, the People's Republic of China. It rises in the Guancen Mountain in Ningwu County in northeast Shanxi, flows southeast into the basin of Taiyuan, and then through the central valley of Shanxi, it joins the Yellow River in the west of city of Hejin. The river is 694-kilometer long and is one of two important tributaries to the Yellow River. The river drains an area of 39,417 square kilometers, which is 25.3% of the area of Shanxi Province. The river nurtured the 2500-year-old Sanjin Civilization, and has since been called the Mother River of people in Shanxi.
As any river that flows through a city, the Fen River added extra charm to the city of Taiyuan. The construction of dams upstream, however, have since reduced the once abundant flow of the river to a mere trickle, and the river bed became literally dry.
In 1990s, the municipal government of Taiyuan built artificial and removable structures across the river at different locations to create reservoirs of water for landscaping purposes. The surface area of these reservoirs amounts to 1.3 million square meters, and along with newly created vegetation of 1.3 million square meters on the banks, forms the Fen River Park.
As any river that flows through a city, the Fen River added extra charm to the city of Taiyuan. The construction of dams upstream, however, have since reduced the once abundant flow of the river to a mere trickle, and the river bed became literally dry.
In 1990s, the municipal government of Taiyuan built artificial and removable structures across the river at different locations to create reservoirs of water for landscaping purposes. The surface area of these reservoirs amounts to 1.3 million square meters, and along with newly created vegetation of 1.3 million square meters on the banks, forms the Fen River Park.
Ejin River
The Ejin River , also known as the Heihe River , is a major river system that originates on the northern Gansu side of the Qilian Shan mountains. A total of 800 km long, the river has two major branches: the western branch flows from Zhangye through and Jiuquan, while the eastern branch flows through Ganzhou. The two branches merge near Gaotai and flow north into the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where the river terminates in the Ejin Basin in the Gobi Desert.
The former Tangut capital of Khara-Khoto, now deserted, lies near the lower end of the river. According to legend, the city was abandoned after forces diverted the river away from the city in 1372.
European explorers to visit the area include Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov and John DeFrancis .
The river area has been suffering from acute desertification. Ground water levels have dropped by as much as 5 meters since the 1940s, while forest coverage near the river shrunk by 1924 km? between 1958 and 1994 and the Juyanhai Lake, once 1200 km?., has dried up entirely.
The former Tangut capital of Khara-Khoto, now deserted, lies near the lower end of the river. According to legend, the city was abandoned after forces diverted the river away from the city in 1372.
European explorers to visit the area include Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov and John DeFrancis .
The river area has been suffering from acute desertification. Ground water levels have dropped by as much as 5 meters since the 1940s, while forest coverage near the river shrunk by 1924 km? between 1958 and 1994 and the Juyanhai Lake, once 1200 km?., has dried up entirely.
Daxia River
The Daxia River is a tributary of the Yellow River in southern Gansu Province in China's far west.
Dadu River
The Dadu River , a tributary of the Yangtze, also known as the Tatu River, is located in the Sichuan province of China. The river is noted for being crossed by the Luding Bridge, a historically important bridge. It was the site of a famous battle by the Chinese communists over Nationalist troops during the Long March.
The Kangding Louding earthquake of 1786 caused a landslide dam in the Dadu. Ten days later, 10 June 1786, the dam broke and the resulting flood extended 1400km downstream, and killed 100,000 people. It is the second-deadliest landslide disaster on record.
A song from the Chinese ''The East Is Red'' is entitled "Across the Dadu River."
There is also a Dadu River in Taiwan.
The Kangding Louding earthquake of 1786 caused a landslide dam in the Dadu. Ten days later, 10 June 1786, the dam broke and the resulting flood extended 1400km downstream, and killed 100,000 people. It is the second-deadliest landslide disaster on record.
A song from the Chinese ''The East Is Red'' is entitled "Across the Dadu River."
There is also a Dadu River in Taiwan.
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra, also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia.
From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into Arunachal Pradesh where it is known as Dihang. It flows southwest through the Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the . There it merges with the to form a vast delta. About 1,800 miles long, the river is an important source for irrigation and transportation. Its upper course was long unknown, and its identity with the Yarlung Tsangpo was only established by exploration in 1884-86. This river is often called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river.
In Bangladesh the river merges with the Ganges and splits into two: the Hugli and Padma River. When it merges with the Ganges it forms the world's largest delta, the . The Sunderbans is known for tigers and mangroves.
While most Indian and Bangladeshi rivers bear female names, this river has a rare male name, as it means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit .
The Brahmaputra is navigable for most of its length. The lower reaches are sacred to . The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the Himalayan snows melt. It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore.
The originates in the ''Jima Yangzong'' glacier near Mount Kailash in the northern Himalayas. It then flows east for about , at an average height of , and is thus the highest of the major rivers in the world. At its easternmost point, it bends around Mt. Namcha Barwa, and forms the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon which is considered the deepest in the world.
As the river enters Arunachal Pradesh, it is called ''Siang'' and makes a very rapid descend from its original height in Tibet, and finally appears in the plains, where it is called ''Dihang''. It flows for about and is joined by two other major rivers: and . From this point of confluence, the river becomes very wide and is called Brahmaputra. It is joined in by the Jia Bhoreli and flows through the entire stretch of Assam. In Assam the river is sometimes as wide as . Between and Lakhimpur districts the river divides into two channels---the northern ''Kherxhutia'' channel and the southern Brahmaputra channel. The two channels join again about downstream forming the Majuli island. At Guwahati near the ancient pilgrimage center of , the Brahmaputra cuts through the rocks of the Shillong Plateau, and is at its narrowest at bank-to-bank. Because the Brahmaputra is the narrowest at this point the Battle of Saraighat was fought here. The first rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra was opened to traffic in April 1962 at Saraighat.
The old Sanskrit name for the river is ' and the local name in Assam is '.
The native inhabitants, i.e., the Bodos called the river ', which means 'making a gurgling sound,' later Sanskritized into '.
When compared to the other major rivers in India, the Brahmaputra is less polluted but it has its own problems: petroleum refining units contribute most of the industrial pollution load into the basin along with other medium and small industries. The main problem facing the river basin is that of constant flooding. Floods have been occurring more often in recent years with deforestation, and other human activities being the major causes.
In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra splits into two branches: the much larger branch continues due south as the and flows into the Lower , locally called , while the older branch curves southeast as the lower Brahmaputra and flows into the . Both paths eventually reconverge near in Bangladesh and flow out into the Bay of Bengal. However, the actual Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh passes through the Jamalpur and Mymensingh district. Fed by the waters of the and Brahmaputra, this river system forms the Ganges Delta, the largest river delta in the world.
During the monsoon season , floods are a common occurrence. Deforestation in the Brahmaputra watershed has resulted in increased siltation levels, flash floods, and soil erosion in critical downstream habitat, such as the Kaziranga National Park in middle Assam. Occasionally, massive flooding causes huge losses to crops, life and property. Periodic flooding is a natural phonomenon which is ecologically important because it helps maintain the lowland grasslands and associated wildlife. Periodic floods also deposit fresh alluvium replenishing the fertile soil of the Brahmaputra River Valley. Thus flooding, agriculture, and agricultural practices are closely connected.
Until Indian independence in 1947, the Brahmaputra was used as a major waterway. In the 1990s, the stretch between Sadiya and Dhubri in India was declared as National Waterway No.2., and it provides facilities for goods transportation. Recent years have seen a modest spurt in the growth of river cruises with the introduction of the cruise ship, "Charaidew," by Assam Bengal Navigation.
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From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into Arunachal Pradesh where it is known as Dihang. It flows southwest through the Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the . There it merges with the to form a vast delta. About 1,800 miles long, the river is an important source for irrigation and transportation. Its upper course was long unknown, and its identity with the Yarlung Tsangpo was only established by exploration in 1884-86. This river is often called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river.
In Bangladesh the river merges with the Ganges and splits into two: the Hugli and Padma River. When it merges with the Ganges it forms the world's largest delta, the . The Sunderbans is known for tigers and mangroves.
While most Indian and Bangladeshi rivers bear female names, this river has a rare male name, as it means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit .
The Brahmaputra is navigable for most of its length. The lower reaches are sacred to . The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the Himalayan snows melt. It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore.
River course
Tibet
The originates in the ''Jima Yangzong'' glacier near Mount Kailash in the northern Himalayas. It then flows east for about , at an average height of , and is thus the highest of the major rivers in the world. At its easternmost point, it bends around Mt. Namcha Barwa, and forms the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon which is considered the deepest in the world.
India
As the river enters Arunachal Pradesh, it is called ''Siang'' and makes a very rapid descend from its original height in Tibet, and finally appears in the plains, where it is called ''Dihang''. It flows for about and is joined by two other major rivers: and . From this point of confluence, the river becomes very wide and is called Brahmaputra. It is joined in by the Jia Bhoreli and flows through the entire stretch of Assam. In Assam the river is sometimes as wide as . Between and Lakhimpur districts the river divides into two channels---the northern ''Kherxhutia'' channel and the southern Brahmaputra channel. The two channels join again about downstream forming the Majuli island. At Guwahati near the ancient pilgrimage center of , the Brahmaputra cuts through the rocks of the Shillong Plateau, and is at its narrowest at bank-to-bank. Because the Brahmaputra is the narrowest at this point the Battle of Saraighat was fought here. The first rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra was opened to traffic in April 1962 at Saraighat.
The old Sanskrit name for the river is ' and the local name in Assam is '.
The native inhabitants, i.e., the Bodos called the river ', which means 'making a gurgling sound,' later Sanskritized into '.
When compared to the other major rivers in India, the Brahmaputra is less polluted but it has its own problems: petroleum refining units contribute most of the industrial pollution load into the basin along with other medium and small industries. The main problem facing the river basin is that of constant flooding. Floods have been occurring more often in recent years with deforestation, and other human activities being the major causes.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra splits into two branches: the much larger branch continues due south as the and flows into the Lower , locally called , while the older branch curves southeast as the lower Brahmaputra and flows into the . Both paths eventually reconverge near in Bangladesh and flow out into the Bay of Bengal. However, the actual Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh passes through the Jamalpur and Mymensingh district. Fed by the waters of the and Brahmaputra, this river system forms the Ganges Delta, the largest river delta in the world.
Flooding
During the monsoon season , floods are a common occurrence. Deforestation in the Brahmaputra watershed has resulted in increased siltation levels, flash floods, and soil erosion in critical downstream habitat, such as the Kaziranga National Park in middle Assam. Occasionally, massive flooding causes huge losses to crops, life and property. Periodic flooding is a natural phonomenon which is ecologically important because it helps maintain the lowland grasslands and associated wildlife. Periodic floods also deposit fresh alluvium replenishing the fertile soil of the Brahmaputra River Valley. Thus flooding, agriculture, and agricultural practices are closely connected.
Transportation and navigation
Until Indian independence in 1947, the Brahmaputra was used as a major waterway. In the 1990s, the stretch between Sadiya and Dhubri in India was declared as National Waterway No.2., and it provides facilities for goods transportation. Recent years have seen a modest spurt in the growth of river cruises with the introduction of the cruise ship, "Charaidew," by Assam Bengal Navigation.
Further reading
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Ba River (China)
The Ba River is a river in Tibet and the largest tributary of the Nyang River. It is the source of the Dadie Waterfall.
Argun River (Asia)
Argun is the Russian name of the river which is a part of the Russia– border. Its upper reaches are known as Hailar He in China. Its length is 1,007 mi .
The river flows from the Western slope of the Greater Khingan Range in Inner Mongolia. Its with Shilka River forms the Amur River.
The river flows from the Western slope of the Greater Khingan Range in Inner Mongolia. Its with Shilka River forms the Amur River.
Amur River
The Amur River or Heilong Jiang is the 's ninth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China.
In many historical references these two geopolitical entities are known as Outer Manchuria and Inner Manchuria, respectively. The Chinese province of Heilongjiang on the south bank of the river is named after it, as is the Russian Amur Oblast on the north bank. The name Black River was used by the Manchu and the Qing Dynasty who always regarded this river as sacred.
The Amur River is a very important symbol of — and an important geopolitical factor in — Chinese-Russian relations. The Amur was especially important in the period of time following the Sino-Soviet political split in the 1960s.
River Steamers plied the Amur in the first years of the century. Mining dredges were imported from America to work the placer gold of the river. Barge and river traffic was greatly hindered by the Civil War of 1918-22. The ex-German Yangtse gunboats Vaterland and Otter, on Chinese Nationalist Navy service, patrolled the Amur in the 1920s.
The economy of the Amur Basin includes manufacturing, metallurgy, iron mining, non-ferrous metals, gold, coal, hydroelectricity, wheat, millet, soybeans, fishing, timber and Chinese-Russian trade. The Daqing oilfield, which is the world's 4th-largest oilfield, is located near Daqing City in Heilongjiang, a few hundred kilometers from the river.
Flowing across northeast Asia for over 4,444 , from the mountains of northeastern China to the Sea of Okhotsk , it drains a remarkable watershed that includes diverse landscapes of desert, steppe, tundra, and taiga, eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Tartary, where the mouth of the river faces the northern end of the island of Sakhalin.
The Amur has always been closely associated with Sakhalin, and most names for the island, even in the languages of the indigenous peoples of the region, are derived from the name of the river: "Sakhalin" derives from a dialectal form cognate with Manchu ''sahaliyan'' , while Ainu and Japanese "Karaputo" or "Karafuto" is derived from the name of the Amur or its mouth. Anton Chekhov vividly described the Amur River in writings about his journey to Sakhalin Island in 1890.
The average annual discharge varies from 6000 m?/s - 12000 m?/s , leading to an average 9819 m?/s or 310 km? per year. The maximum runoff measured occurred in Oct 1951 with 30700 m?/s whereas the minimum discharge was recorded in March 1946 with a mere 514 m?/s.
The Amur proper is 2,874 km long after the junction of two rivers:
* Northern tributary: the , originating from the eastern slopes of the Khentii Mountains in Mongolia.
* Southern tributary: the , originating on the western slopes of the Great Khingan Range in northeast China.
Major tributaries are:
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the
The Amur is bordered by Heilongjiang province of China in the south, and Amur Oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and Khabarovsk Krai of Russia in the north. The final stretch of the Amur passes through Khabarovsk Krai. It passes by the following cities:
*
* Blagoveshchensk
* Heihe
* Jiayin
* Tongjiang
* Fuyuan
* Khabarovsk
* Komsomolsk-na-Amure
* Nikolayevsk-na-Amure
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich, government vice-chairman of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Oblast said that China and Russia started construction of the Amur Bridge Project at the end of 2007. The bridge will link Nizhneleninskoye in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast with Tongjiang in Heilongjiang Province. The 2,197-meter-long bridge, with an estimated investment of nearly US$230 million, is expected to be finished by the end of 2010, Gurevich said. Gurevich said that the proposal to construct a bridge across the river was actually made by Russia, in view of growing cargo transportation demands. "The bridge, in the bold estimate, will be finished in three years," Gurevich said.
History and context
In many historical references these two geopolitical entities are known as Outer Manchuria and Inner Manchuria, respectively. The Chinese province of Heilongjiang on the south bank of the river is named after it, as is the Russian Amur Oblast on the north bank. The name Black River was used by the Manchu and the Qing Dynasty who always regarded this river as sacred.
The Amur River is a very important symbol of — and an important geopolitical factor in — Chinese-Russian relations. The Amur was especially important in the period of time following the Sino-Soviet political split in the 1960s.
River Steamers plied the Amur in the first years of the century. Mining dredges were imported from America to work the placer gold of the river. Barge and river traffic was greatly hindered by the Civil War of 1918-22. The ex-German Yangtse gunboats Vaterland and Otter, on Chinese Nationalist Navy service, patrolled the Amur in the 1920s.
The economy of the Amur Basin includes manufacturing, metallurgy, iron mining, non-ferrous metals, gold, coal, hydroelectricity, wheat, millet, soybeans, fishing, timber and Chinese-Russian trade. The Daqing oilfield, which is the world's 4th-largest oilfield, is located near Daqing City in Heilongjiang, a few hundred kilometers from the river.
Direction
Flowing across northeast Asia for over 4,444 , from the mountains of northeastern China to the Sea of Okhotsk , it drains a remarkable watershed that includes diverse landscapes of desert, steppe, tundra, and taiga, eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Tartary, where the mouth of the river faces the northern end of the island of Sakhalin.
The Amur has always been closely associated with Sakhalin, and most names for the island, even in the languages of the indigenous peoples of the region, are derived from the name of the river: "Sakhalin" derives from a dialectal form cognate with Manchu ''sahaliyan'' , while Ainu and Japanese "Karaputo" or "Karafuto" is derived from the name of the Amur or its mouth. Anton Chekhov vividly described the Amur River in writings about his journey to Sakhalin Island in 1890.
The average annual discharge varies from 6000 m?/s - 12000 m?/s , leading to an average 9819 m?/s or 310 km? per year. The maximum runoff measured occurred in Oct 1951 with 30700 m?/s whereas the minimum discharge was recorded in March 1946 with a mere 514 m?/s.
Tributaries
The Amur proper is 2,874 km long after the junction of two rivers:
* Northern tributary: the , originating from the eastern slopes of the Khentii Mountains in Mongolia.
* Southern tributary: the , originating on the western slopes of the Great Khingan Range in northeast China.
Major tributaries are:
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the ,
* the
The Amur is bordered by Heilongjiang province of China in the south, and Amur Oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and Khabarovsk Krai of Russia in the north. The final stretch of the Amur passes through Khabarovsk Krai. It passes by the following cities:
*
* Blagoveshchensk
* Heihe
* Jiayin
* Tongjiang
* Fuyuan
* Khabarovsk
* Komsomolsk-na-Amure
* Nikolayevsk-na-Amure
Transportation
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich, government vice-chairman of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Oblast said that China and Russia started construction of the Amur Bridge Project at the end of 2007. The bridge will link Nizhneleninskoye in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast with Tongjiang in Heilongjiang Province. The 2,197-meter-long bridge, with an estimated investment of nearly US$230 million, is expected to be finished by the end of 2010, Gurevich said. Gurevich said that the proposal to construct a bridge across the river was actually made by Russia, in view of growing cargo transportation demands. "The bridge, in the bold estimate, will be finished in three years," Gurevich said.
Aksu River (China)
The Aksu River is a river in the Xinjiang province in . Aksu has its sources in the eastern part of Kyrgyzstan, in the Tien Shan mountains near the Chinese border. From here it first runs towards the west, before turning south and breaking through the high mountains and into Xinjiang in the northern parts of the Tarim Basin. At the city of it meets its main tributary, the , which flows in from the west. After the confluence the river continues south and enters the northern edge of the Taklamakan desert, where it joins the Tarim River. The Aksu River is the only one of the Tarim's source rivers to run throughout the year.
Zi River
The Zi Jiang is one of the four largest rivers in Hunan of China, also one of the main of the Yangtze River. It is 653 long and covers 28,2142 .
The Zijiang has two sources, the South and the West. Originating from the norh side of in Ziyuan County of Guangxi, the South source, Daxishui River flows through , Shaoyang. Origination from the Huangmajie in , the West source, Heshui River flows through and .
The two rivers flow until they join the main river named Zijiang River at Shuangjiangkou in . Then the Zijiang runs through Shaoyang, , Lengshuijiang, , and , empties into the Dongting Lake at Ganxikou in Yiyang.
The four largest rivers in Hunan are: the Xiang River, the Yuan Jiang, the Zijiang River and the Lishui River.
The Zijiang has two sources, the South and the West. Originating from the norh side of in Ziyuan County of Guangxi, the South source, Daxishui River flows through , Shaoyang. Origination from the Huangmajie in , the West source, Heshui River flows through and .
The two rivers flow until they join the main river named Zijiang River at Shuangjiangkou in . Then the Zijiang runs through Shaoyang, , Lengshuijiang, , and , empties into the Dongting Lake at Ganxikou in Yiyang.
The four largest rivers in Hunan are: the Xiang River, the Yuan Jiang, the Zijiang River and the Lishui River.
Yuan River
The Yuan River is one of the four largest rivers in Hunan province in southeast-central China, and is a tributary of Yangtze River.
It is 864 km long and rises in Guizhou province in the Miao Mountains near Tu-yün and is navigable. The upper stream is called the Lung-t'ou River, and downstream it is called the Ch'ing-shui River. It becomes the Yüan River after its confluence with its northern tributary, the Wu River.
Location coordinates:
It is 864 km long and rises in Guizhou province in the Miao Mountains near Tu-yün and is navigable. The upper stream is called the Lung-t'ou River, and downstream it is called the Ch'ing-shui River. It becomes the Yüan River after its confluence with its northern tributary, the Wu River.
Location coordinates:
Yu River
The Yu River is a river in the south of China. It rises in two branches - the Zuo River and the You River . The You flows roughly south-east from its source close to Bose in Guangxi. The Zuo flows north-east from its sources in Vietnam: Peng River and K? Cùng River . They meet just west of Nanning. The Yu itself runs roughly due East for 400 miles before joining the Hongshui He at Guiping to form the Xi River.
Yong River
The Wang River is one of the main rivers in China, located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.
The name, ''Yong'', comes from the city it flows through, Ningbo, which was also known as ''Yong'' in ancient times.
Yong River is formed by the convergence of two rivers, namely the Fenghua River, which flows through Fenghua, Yuyao and Cixi, and the Yao River, which passes through Shangyao and Siming Mountains. It empties into the East China Sea in Zhenhai, Ningbo.
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The name, ''Yong'', comes from the city it flows through, Ningbo, which was also known as ''Yong'' in ancient times.
Yong River is formed by the convergence of two rivers, namely the Fenghua River, which flows through Fenghua, Yuyao and Cixi, and the Yao River, which passes through Shangyao and Siming Mountains. It empties into the East China Sea in Zhenhai, Ningbo.
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Yixun He
Yi River (China)
The Yi River is a tributary of the in the province of , China.
The river rises in Luanchuan County, and then flows through the counties of and before entering Luoyang city proper. It joins the Luo River at Yanshi.
The river's total length is 368 kilometres and it has a catchment basin of 6,100 square kilometres.
The Yi-Luo river basin is of major archaeological significance.
The river rises in Luanchuan County, and then flows through the counties of and before entering Luoyang city proper. It joins the Luo River at Yanshi.
The river's total length is 368 kilometres and it has a catchment basin of 6,100 square kilometres.
The Yi-Luo river basin is of major archaeological significance.
Yellow Sheep River
Yellow Sheep River is an area situated in Gu Lang Gorge, an arid, mountainous region of the People's republic of China home mostly to poor families who rely on agriculture for their income. Inventec Electronics Co., Ltd runs a programme aimed at improving the standards of education for students from this area attending and exposing them to life in developed mainland China.
Yellow Sheep River is also the name of a .
Yellow Sheep River is also the name of a .
Yellow River
The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia and the in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the in South America.
The river is about 6,300 long and flows from its source in Qinghai Province, eastwards into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It has traditionally been considered a dividing line between , although geographers consider the Qinling-Huai River line to be the official line of geographical division. As the largest river in the region, the Yangtze is historically, culturally, and economically important to China.
The name Yangtze River, as well as various similar names such as Yangtse River, Yangzi River, Yangtze Kiang etc., is derived from Yangzi Jiang , which, beginning in the Sui Dynasty, was the Chinese name for the river in its lower reaches, specifically, the stretch between Yangzhou and Zhenjiang . The name derives from the ancient ferry crossing Yangzi Jin . From the Ming dynasty, the name was sometimes written 洋子 . Because it was the name first heard by missionaries and traders, this name was applied in English to the entire river. In Chinese, Yangzi Jiang is considered a historical or poetic name for the river. The modern Chinese name, Chang Jiang , literally means "long river" and may sometimes also be used in English.
Like many rivers, the river is known by different names over its course. At its source it is called in Chinese the Dangqu . Downstream it is called the Tuotuo River and then the Tongtian River . Where it runs through deep gorges parallel to the Mekong and the Salween before emerging onto the plains of Sichuan, it is known as the Jinsha River .
The Yangtze was earlier known to the Chinese as simply Jiang , which has become a generic name meaning "river," or the Da Jiang . The Tibetan name for the river is Drichu . The Yangtze is sometimes referred to as the Golden Waterway.
The river originates in a glacier lying on the west of Geladandong mountain in the on the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau. It runs through the eastern part of Qinghai, turning southward down a deep valley at the border of Sichuan and Tibet to reach Yunnan. In the course of this valley, the river's elevation drops from above 5000 m to less than 1000 m.The headwaters of the Yangtze are situated at an elevation of about 4900 m . In its descent to sea level, the river falls to an altitude of 305 m at Yibin, Sichuan Province, the head of navigation for riverboats, and to 192 m at Chongqing. Between Chongqing and Yichang , at an altitude of 40 m and a distance of about 320 km , it passes through the spectacular Yangtze Gorges, which are noted for their natural beauty but are dangerous to shipping.
It enters the basin of Sichuan at Yibin. While in the Sichuan basin it receives several mighty tributaries, increasing its water volume significantly. It then cuts through Mount Wushan bordering Chongqing and Hubei to create the famous Three Gorges. Eastward of the Three Gorges, Yichang is the first city on the Yangtze Plain.
After entering Hubei, the Yangtze receives more water from thousands of lakes. The largest of these lakes is Dongting Lake, which is located on the border of Hunan and Hubei provinces, and is the outlet for most of the rivers in Hunan. At Wuhan it receives its biggest tributary, the , bringing water from its northern basin as far as Shaanxi.
At the northern tip of Jiangxi, Lake Poyang, the biggest freshwater lake in China, merges into the river. The river then runs through Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, receiving more water from innumerable smaller lakes and rivers, and finally reaches the East China Sea at Shanghai.
Four of China's five main freshwater lakes contribute their waters to the Yangtze River. Traditionally, the upstream part of the Yangtze River refers to the section from Yibin to Yichang; the middle part refers to the section from Yichang to Hukou, where Lake Poyang meets the river; the downstream part is from Hukou to Shanghai.
In 2007 fears were expressed that China's Finless Porpoise, known locally as the ''jiangzhu'' or "river pig", might follow the baiji, the Yangtze river dolphin, into extinction. The baiji was declared functionally extinct in 2006.
Calls have been made for action to be taken to save the porpoise, of which there are about 1400 left living, with between 700 and 900 in the Yangtze, with about another 500 in Poyang and Dongting Lakes.
2007 population levels are less than half the 1997 levels, and the population is dropping at a rate of 7.3 percent per year.
Heavy river traffic on the Yangtze has driven the porpoise into the lakes. On Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, sand dredging has become a mainstay of local economical development in the last few years, and is an important source of revenue in the region that border it. But at the same time, high-density dredging projects have been the principal cause of the death of the local wildlife population.
Dredging makes the waters of the lake muddier, and the porpoises cannot see as far as they once could, and have to rely on their highly-developed sonar systems to avoid obstacles and look for food. Large ships enter and leave the lake at the rate of two a minute and such a high density of shipping means the porpoises have difficulty hearing their food, and also cannot swim freely from one bank to the other.
About 30 % of river's major tributaries like Minjiang, Tuojiang, Xiangjiang and Huangpu are heavily polluted by massive quantities of ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorus and other pollutants which are causing significantly smaller fish catch.
The Three Gorges Dam is having a major adverse impact on the Yangtze River basin, especially the and archaeology.
The river is also home to rare fish such as the Chinese Paddlefish and Yangtze Sturgeon, which may also already be extinct.
The Yangtze flows into the East China Sea and was navigable by ocean-going vessels up to a thousand miles from its mouth even before the Three Gorges Dam was built. As of June 2003, this dam spans the river, flooding Fengjie, the first of a number of towns affected by the massive flood control and power generation project. This is the largest comprehensive irrigation project in the world, and has a significant impact on the . Its proponents argue that it will free people living along the river from floods that have repeatedly threatened them in the past, and will offer them electricity and water transport -- though at the expense of permanently flooding many existing towns and causing large-scale changes in the local ecology.
Opponents of the dam point out that there are three different kinds of floods on the Yangtze River: floods which originate in the upper reaches, floods which originate in the lower reaches, and floods along the entire length of the river. They argue that the Three Gorges dam will actually make flooding in the upper reaches worse and have little or no impact on floods which originate in the lower reaches. Twelve hundred years of low water marks on the river were recorded in the inscriptions and the carvings of carp at Baiheliang, now submerged.
The Yangtze is flanked with metallurgical, power, chemical, auto, building materials and machinery industrial belts, and high-tech development zones. It is playing an increasingly crucial role in the river valley's economic growth and has become a vital link for international shipping to the inland provinces. The river is a major transportation artery for China, connecting the interior with the coast.
The river used as a waterway for commerce offer now the possibility to cruise at leisure. Since 2004 a European luxury cruising company has brought very high standard and with the help of Swiss hotelier Nicolas C. Solari developed and opened three beautiful vessels now cruising the mighty river.
The river is one of the world's busiest waterways. Traffic includes commercial traffic transporting bulk goods such as coal as well as manufactured goods and passengers. Cargo transportation reached 795 million tons in 2005. River cruises several days long especially through the beautiful and scenic Three Gorges area are becoming popular as the tourism industry grows in China.
Flooding along the river has been a major problem. The rainy season in China is May and June in areas south of Yangtze River, and July and August in areas north of it. The huge river system receives water both from southern and northern flanks, which causes its flood season to extend from May to August. Meanwhile, the relatively dense population and rich cities along the river make the floods more deadly and costly. The most recent major floods were the 1998 Yangtze River Floods, but more disastrous were the 1954 Yangtze river floods, killing around 30,000 people. Other severe floods included those of which killed around 100,000, , and .
The Yangtze is very polluted, especially in Hubei .
The Yangtze Harbor is important to the cultural origins of southern China. Human activity was found in the Three Gorges area as far back as 27 thousand years ago, initiating debate over the origin of the Chinese people. In the Spring and Autumn Period, and were located in the western part of the river, covering modern Sichuan, Chongqing, and western Hubei; was located in the central part of river, corresponding to Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and southern Anhui. and were located in the eastern part of the river, now Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. Although the Yellow River region was richer and more developed at that time, the milder climate and more peaceful environment made the Yangtze river area more suitable for agriculture.
From the Han Dynasty, the region of the Yangtze river became more and more important in China's economy. The establishment of irrigation systems made agriculture very stable and productive. Early in the Qing dynasty, the region called "Jiangnan" provided 1/3-1/2 of the nation's revenues.
Historically, the Yangtze became the political boundary between north China and south China several times because of the difficulty of crossing the river. Many battles took place along the river, the most famous being the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD during the Three Kingdoms period.
Politically, Nanjing was the capital of China several times, although most of the time its territory only covered the southeastern part of China, such as the in the Three Kingdoms period, the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and smaller countries in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods. Only the occupied most parts of China from their capital at Nanjing, though it later moved capital to Beijing. The ROC capital was located in Nanjing in the periods 1911-1912, 1927-1937, 1945-1949.
The first merchant steamer in China, the Jardine, was built to order for the Firm in 1835. She was a small vessel intended for use as a mail and passenger carrier between Lintin, Macao, and Whampoa. However, after several trips, the Chinese authorities, for reasons best known to themselves, prohibited her entrance into the river. Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary who personified gunboat diplomacy, decided mainly on the "suggestions" of Jardine to wage war on China. In mid-1840, a large fleet of war ships appeared on the China coast and with the first cannon fire aimed at a British ship, the Royal Saxon, the British started the first of the Opium Wars. British warships destroyed numerous shore batteries and enemy warships, laid waste to several coastal forts, indiscriminately bombarding town after town with heavy cannon fire, even pushing up north to threaten the Imperial Palace in Beijing itself. The Imperial Government, forced to surrender, gave in to the demands of the British.British military superiority was clearly evident during the armed conflict. British warships, constructed using such innovations as steam power combined with sail and the use of iron in shipbuilding, wreaked havoc on coastal towns; such ships were not only virtually indestructible but also highly mobile and able to support a gun platform with very heavy guns. In addition, the British troops were armed with modern muskets and cannons, unlike the Qing forces. After the British took Canton, they sailed up the Yangtze and took the tax barges, a devastating blow to the Empire as it slashed the revenue of the imperial court in Beijing to just a small fraction of what it had been.
In 1842 the Qing authorities sued for peace, which concluded with the Treaty of Nanjing signed on a gunboat in the river, negotiated in August of that year and ratified in 1843. In the treaty, China was forced to pay an indemnity to Britain, open five ports to Britain, and cede Hong Kong to Queen Victoria. In the supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, the Qing empire also recognized Britain as an equal to China and gave British subjects extraterritorial privileges in treaty ports.
The US, at the same time, wanted to protect its interests and expand trade, ventured the USS Wachusett six-hundred miles up the river to Hankow about 1860. While the USS Ashuelot
a sidewheeler made her way up the river to Ichang in 1874. The first USS Monocacy a sidewheel gunboat began charting the Yangtze River in 1871. The first USS Palos an armed tug was on Asiatic Station into 1891, cruising the Chinese and Japanese coasts, visiting the open treaty ports and making occasional voyages up the Yangtze River. From June to September 1891, anti-foreign riots up the Yangtze forced the warship to make an extended voyage as far as Hankow, 600 miles upriver. Stopping at each open treaty port, the gunboat cooperated with naval vessels of other nations and repairing damage. She then operated along the north and central China coast and on the lower Yangtze until June 1892. The cessation of bloodshed with the Taiping Rebellion, Europeans put more steamers on the river. The French, not to sit idle and get rice crumbs, engaged the Chinese in war over the rule of Vietnam. The Sino-French Wars of the 1880s emerged with the Battle of Shipu having French cruisers in the lower Yangtze.
China Navigation Company was an early shipping company founded in 1876 in London, initially to trade up the Yangtze River from their Shanghai base with passengers and cargo. Chinese coastal trade started shortly after and in 1883 a regular service to Australia was initiated. Most of the company's ships were seized by Japan in 1941 and services did not resume until 1946. Robert Dollar was a later shipping magnate, who became enormously influencial moving Californian and Canadian lumber to
the Chinese and Japanese market.
Yichang or Ichang, 1600 km from the sea, is the head of navigation for river steamers; oceangoing vessels may navigate the river to Hankow, a distance of almost 1000 km from the sea. For about 320 km inland from its mouth, the river is virtually at sea level.
The Chinese Government, too, had steamers. It had its own naval fleet, the Nanyang Fleet, which fell prey to the French fleet. The chinese would rebuild its fleet,
only to be ravaged by another war with Japan , Revolution and ongoing inefficiency and corruption. Chinese companies ran their own steamers, but were second tier to European operations at the time.
Steamers came late to the upper river. The three gorges and the strong current hindered plans. Achibald Little attempted a voyage with the Lee-Chuan, and the Kuling, delays and weak engines
meant that he only succeeded in the first vessel in 1898. Little soon built the first truly successful boat, the Pioneer, about 1899--she plied the river for two more decades and was even the flagship for the Royal Navy on the China Station. There were a few commercial steamers on the upper river by the turn of the century and the Boxer Rebellion. The Commercial firms of Jardine Matheson, Butterfield and Swire, and Standard Oil had their own steamers on the river. Until 1881, the India and China coastal and river services were operated by several companies. In that year, however, these were merged into the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company, Ltd., a public company under the management of Jardines. The Jardine company pushed inland up the Yangtsze River on which a specially designed fleet was built to meet all requirements of the river trade. For many years, this fleet gave unequalled service.
Jardines established an enviable reputation for the efficient handling of shipping. As a result, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company invited the firm to attend to the Agency of their Shire Line which operated in the Far East. Standard Oil ran the tankers Mei Ping, Mei An, and Mei Hsia.
With the Treaty Ports, the European powers and Japan were allowed to float navy ships into China's internal waters. The British, US and French did this. A full international fleet featured on Chinese
waters: Austro-Hungarians, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, and German navy ships came to Shanghaii and the treaty ports. The Japanese engaged in open war with the Chinese twice, and Russians twice, over conquest of the Chinese Qing empire-- in the First and Second Sino-Japanese War 1895, and 1905;and the Russo-Japanese war of 1904. Incidently, both the French and Japanese navies were
heavily involved in running opium and narcotics to Shanghai, where it was refined into morphine. It was then transhipped by liner back to Marseille and France for processing in Germany and eventual sale in the US or Europe.
In 1909 the gunboat USS Samar changed station to Shanghai, where she regularly patrolled the lower Yangtze River up to Nanking and Wuhu. Following an anti-foreign riots in Changsha in April 1910, which destroyed a number of missions and merchant warehouses, Samar sailed up the Yangtze River to Hankow and then Changsa to show the flag and help restore order. The gunboat was also administratively assigned to the Asiatic Fleet that year, which had been reestablished by the Navy to better protect, in the words of the Bureau of Navigation, "American interests in the Orient." After returning to Shanghai in August, she sailed up river again the following summer, passing Wuhu in June but then running aground off Kichau on 1 July 1911. After staying stuck in the mud for two weeks, Samar broke free and sailed back down river to coal ship. Returning upriver, the gunboat reached Hankow in August and Ichang in September where she wintered over owing to both the dry season and the outbreak of rebellion at Wuchang in October 1911. Tensions eased and the gunboat turned downriver in July 1912, arriving at Shanghai in October. Samar patrolled the lower Yangtze after fighting broke out in the summer 1913, a precursor to a decade of conflict between provincial warlords in China. In 1919, she was placed on the disposal list at Shanghai following a collision with a Yangtze river steamer that damaged her bow.
The spanish boats were replaced in the twenties by the and were the largest, and next in size, and and the smallest. China in the first fifty years of the twentieth century, was in low-grade chaos. Warlords, revolutions, natural disasters, civil war and invasions contributed. Yangtze boats were involved in the Nanjing Incident in 1927 when the Communists and Nationalists broke into open war. The Chiang's massacre of the
Communists in Shanghai in 1927 furthered the unrest, US Marines with tanks were landed. River steamers were popular targets for both Nationalists and
Communists, and peasants who would take periodic pot-shots at vessels. During the course of service the second USS Palos protected American interests in China down the entire length of the Yangtze, at times convoying U.S. and foreign vessels on the river, evacuating American citizens during periods of disturbance and in general giving credible presence to U.S. consulates and residences in various Chinese cities. In the period of great unrest in central China in the 1920s, Palos was especially busy patrolling the upper Yangtze against bands of warlord soldiers and outlaws. The warship engaged in continuous patrol operations between Ichang and Chungking throughout 1923, supplying armed guards to merchant ships, and protecting Americans at Chungking while that city was under siege by a warlord army
The British had a series of Insect class gunboat which patrolled between Chungking and Shanghai. Cruisers and destroyers and Fly class vessels also patrolled. The most infamous incident was when USS Panay and HMS Bee in 1937,were dive bombed by Japanese airplanes during the Rape of Nanking. The Europeans were forced to leave the Yangtse River with the Japanese takeover in 1941. The former steamers were either sabotaged or pressed into Japanese or Chinese service.
See Also
*China Station
*The Sand Pebbles
*USS Asheville
*Brown water navy
*Yangtze Patrol
*HMS Amethyst
*Panzhihua
*Yibin
*Luzhou
*Chongqing
*Yichang
*Jingzhou
*Shashi
*Shishou
*Yueyang
*Xianning
*Wuhan
*Ezhou
*Huangshi
*
*Chaohu
*Chizhou
*Jiujiang
*Anqing
*Tongling
*Wuhu
*Hefei
*Chuzhou
*Maanshan
*
*Yangzhou
*Zhenjiang
*Nanjing
*Nantong
*Shanghai
*Fengdu
Chongqing:
*Caiyuanba Bridge
*Chaotianmen Bridge
*Chongqing Second Bridge Yangtze River Bridge
*Baidicheng Suspension Bridge
*Masangxi Bridge
*Shibanpo Bridge
*Wushan Bridge
*Fengdu Bridge
*Maochaojie Bridge
*Wanxian Bridge
*LumMingYan Bridge
Hubei:
*Zhicheng Bridge
*Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Junshan Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Baishazhou Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Qingdao Road Yangtze River Tunnel
*Second Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Erqi Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Tianxingzhou Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Yangluo Yangtze River Bridge
*Huangshi Yangtze River Bridge
Jiangxi:
*Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge
Anhui:
*Anqing Bridge
*Tongling Bridge
*Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge
Jiangsu:
*Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
*Runyang Bridge
*Jiangyin Suspension Bridge
*Sutong Bridge
Jiangsu and Shanghai:
*Chongqi Bridge
Shanghai:
*
*
By 2007, there are two dams on the Yangtze river: Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba Dam. The third one Xiluodu Dam is under construction. More dams are in planning stage, such as Wudongde, Baihetan, and Xiangjiaba.
The Yangtze River has over 700 tributaries but the principal tributaries are the following:
*Yalong River
*Minjiang River
*Jialing River
*Tuo he
*
*The Yangtze is home to at least two critically endangered species: The Chinese Alligator and the Chinese Paddlefish. In December of 2006, the Baiji was declared after an extensive search of the river revealed no signs of the dolphin's inhabitance; however, one was sighted soon after.
*Cheung Kong Holdings, from the form of Chang Jiang and named after the river, is the name of the holding company controlled by Li Ka-Shing, one of Asia's richest tycoons.
*In 2004 Martin Strel from Slovenia swam the river from the Tiger Leaping Gorge to Shanghai .
*In 1342 the Yangtze River in Jiangzu province was reported to have run dry. Water completely disappeared for a day and the riverbed became visible. This event occurred again on January 13, 1954.
*The river was first rafted from source to mouth in 1986 by all-Chinese teams attempting to beat a Sino-American team to the first descent. Ten of the rafters drowned. The event was widely followed by the Chinese press, and became a source of national pride.
*As the Yangtze is undergoing a truly astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam, Canadian documentary filmmaker Yung Chang decided to make this the project oh his new film. The result was a award-winning documentary called .
*Van Slyke, Lyman P. 1988. ''Yangtze: nature, history, and the river''. A Portable Stanford Book. ISBN 0-201-08894-0
*Winchester, Simon. 1996. ''The River at the Center of the World:A Journey up the Yangtze & Back in Chinese Time'', Holt, Henry & Company, 1996, hardcover, ISBN 0-8050-3888-4; trade paperback, Owl Publishing, 1997, ISBN 0-8050-5508-8; trade paperback, St. Martins, 2004, 432 pages, ISBN 0-312-42337-3
The river is about 6,300 long and flows from its source in Qinghai Province, eastwards into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It has traditionally been considered a dividing line between , although geographers consider the Qinling-Huai River line to be the official line of geographical division. As the largest river in the region, the Yangtze is historically, culturally, and economically important to China.
The name Yangtze River, as well as various similar names such as Yangtse River, Yangzi River, Yangtze Kiang etc., is derived from Yangzi Jiang , which, beginning in the Sui Dynasty, was the Chinese name for the river in its lower reaches, specifically, the stretch between Yangzhou and Zhenjiang . The name derives from the ancient ferry crossing Yangzi Jin . From the Ming dynasty, the name was sometimes written 洋子 . Because it was the name first heard by missionaries and traders, this name was applied in English to the entire river. In Chinese, Yangzi Jiang is considered a historical or poetic name for the river. The modern Chinese name, Chang Jiang , literally means "long river" and may sometimes also be used in English.
Like many rivers, the river is known by different names over its course. At its source it is called in Chinese the Dangqu . Downstream it is called the Tuotuo River and then the Tongtian River . Where it runs through deep gorges parallel to the Mekong and the Salween before emerging onto the plains of Sichuan, it is known as the Jinsha River .
The Yangtze was earlier known to the Chinese as simply Jiang , which has become a generic name meaning "river," or the Da Jiang . The Tibetan name for the river is Drichu . The Yangtze is sometimes referred to as the Golden Waterway.
Geography
The river originates in a glacier lying on the west of Geladandong mountain in the on the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau. It runs through the eastern part of Qinghai, turning southward down a deep valley at the border of Sichuan and Tibet to reach Yunnan. In the course of this valley, the river's elevation drops from above 5000 m to less than 1000 m.The headwaters of the Yangtze are situated at an elevation of about 4900 m . In its descent to sea level, the river falls to an altitude of 305 m at Yibin, Sichuan Province, the head of navigation for riverboats, and to 192 m at Chongqing. Between Chongqing and Yichang , at an altitude of 40 m and a distance of about 320 km , it passes through the spectacular Yangtze Gorges, which are noted for their natural beauty but are dangerous to shipping.
It enters the basin of Sichuan at Yibin. While in the Sichuan basin it receives several mighty tributaries, increasing its water volume significantly. It then cuts through Mount Wushan bordering Chongqing and Hubei to create the famous Three Gorges. Eastward of the Three Gorges, Yichang is the first city on the Yangtze Plain.
After entering Hubei, the Yangtze receives more water from thousands of lakes. The largest of these lakes is Dongting Lake, which is located on the border of Hunan and Hubei provinces, and is the outlet for most of the rivers in Hunan. At Wuhan it receives its biggest tributary, the , bringing water from its northern basin as far as Shaanxi.
At the northern tip of Jiangxi, Lake Poyang, the biggest freshwater lake in China, merges into the river. The river then runs through Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, receiving more water from innumerable smaller lakes and rivers, and finally reaches the East China Sea at Shanghai.
Four of China's five main freshwater lakes contribute their waters to the Yangtze River. Traditionally, the upstream part of the Yangtze River refers to the section from Yibin to Yichang; the middle part refers to the section from Yichang to Hukou, where Lake Poyang meets the river; the downstream part is from Hukou to Shanghai.
Environment
In 2007 fears were expressed that China's Finless Porpoise, known locally as the ''jiangzhu'' or "river pig", might follow the baiji, the Yangtze river dolphin, into extinction. The baiji was declared functionally extinct in 2006.
Calls have been made for action to be taken to save the porpoise, of which there are about 1400 left living, with between 700 and 900 in the Yangtze, with about another 500 in Poyang and Dongting Lakes.
2007 population levels are less than half the 1997 levels, and the population is dropping at a rate of 7.3 percent per year.
Heavy river traffic on the Yangtze has driven the porpoise into the lakes. On Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, sand dredging has become a mainstay of local economical development in the last few years, and is an important source of revenue in the region that border it. But at the same time, high-density dredging projects have been the principal cause of the death of the local wildlife population.
Dredging makes the waters of the lake muddier, and the porpoises cannot see as far as they once could, and have to rely on their highly-developed sonar systems to avoid obstacles and look for food. Large ships enter and leave the lake at the rate of two a minute and such a high density of shipping means the porpoises have difficulty hearing their food, and also cannot swim freely from one bank to the other.
About 30 % of river's major tributaries like Minjiang, Tuojiang, Xiangjiang and Huangpu are heavily polluted by massive quantities of ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorus and other pollutants which are causing significantly smaller fish catch.
The Three Gorges Dam is having a major adverse impact on the Yangtze River basin, especially the and archaeology.
The river is also home to rare fish such as the Chinese Paddlefish and Yangtze Sturgeon, which may also already be extinct.
Characteristics
The Yangtze flows into the East China Sea and was navigable by ocean-going vessels up to a thousand miles from its mouth even before the Three Gorges Dam was built. As of June 2003, this dam spans the river, flooding Fengjie, the first of a number of towns affected by the massive flood control and power generation project. This is the largest comprehensive irrigation project in the world, and has a significant impact on the . Its proponents argue that it will free people living along the river from floods that have repeatedly threatened them in the past, and will offer them electricity and water transport -- though at the expense of permanently flooding many existing towns and causing large-scale changes in the local ecology.
Opponents of the dam point out that there are three different kinds of floods on the Yangtze River: floods which originate in the upper reaches, floods which originate in the lower reaches, and floods along the entire length of the river. They argue that the Three Gorges dam will actually make flooding in the upper reaches worse and have little or no impact on floods which originate in the lower reaches. Twelve hundred years of low water marks on the river were recorded in the inscriptions and the carvings of carp at Baiheliang, now submerged.
The Yangtze is flanked with metallurgical, power, chemical, auto, building materials and machinery industrial belts, and high-tech development zones. It is playing an increasingly crucial role in the river valley's economic growth and has become a vital link for international shipping to the inland provinces. The river is a major transportation artery for China, connecting the interior with the coast.
The river used as a waterway for commerce offer now the possibility to cruise at leisure. Since 2004 a European luxury cruising company has brought very high standard and with the help of Swiss hotelier Nicolas C. Solari developed and opened three beautiful vessels now cruising the mighty river.
The river is one of the world's busiest waterways. Traffic includes commercial traffic transporting bulk goods such as coal as well as manufactured goods and passengers. Cargo transportation reached 795 million tons in 2005. River cruises several days long especially through the beautiful and scenic Three Gorges area are becoming popular as the tourism industry grows in China.
Flooding along the river has been a major problem. The rainy season in China is May and June in areas south of Yangtze River, and July and August in areas north of it. The huge river system receives water both from southern and northern flanks, which causes its flood season to extend from May to August. Meanwhile, the relatively dense population and rich cities along the river make the floods more deadly and costly. The most recent major floods were the 1998 Yangtze River Floods, but more disastrous were the 1954 Yangtze river floods, killing around 30,000 people. Other severe floods included those of which killed around 100,000, , and .
The Yangtze is very polluted, especially in Hubei .
History
The Yangtze Harbor is important to the cultural origins of southern China. Human activity was found in the Three Gorges area as far back as 27 thousand years ago, initiating debate over the origin of the Chinese people. In the Spring and Autumn Period, and were located in the western part of the river, covering modern Sichuan, Chongqing, and western Hubei; was located in the central part of river, corresponding to Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and southern Anhui. and were located in the eastern part of the river, now Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. Although the Yellow River region was richer and more developed at that time, the milder climate and more peaceful environment made the Yangtze river area more suitable for agriculture.
From the Han Dynasty, the region of the Yangtze river became more and more important in China's economy. The establishment of irrigation systems made agriculture very stable and productive. Early in the Qing dynasty, the region called "Jiangnan" provided 1/3-1/2 of the nation's revenues.
Historically, the Yangtze became the political boundary between north China and south China several times because of the difficulty of crossing the river. Many battles took place along the river, the most famous being the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD during the Three Kingdoms period.
Politically, Nanjing was the capital of China several times, although most of the time its territory only covered the southeastern part of China, such as the in the Three Kingdoms period, the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and smaller countries in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods. Only the occupied most parts of China from their capital at Nanjing, though it later moved capital to Beijing. The ROC capital was located in Nanjing in the periods 1911-1912, 1927-1937, 1945-1949.
The Arrival of Steamships for a variety of purposes
The first merchant steamer in China, the Jardine, was built to order for the Firm in 1835. She was a small vessel intended for use as a mail and passenger carrier between Lintin, Macao, and Whampoa. However, after several trips, the Chinese authorities, for reasons best known to themselves, prohibited her entrance into the river. Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary who personified gunboat diplomacy, decided mainly on the "suggestions" of Jardine to wage war on China. In mid-1840, a large fleet of war ships appeared on the China coast and with the first cannon fire aimed at a British ship, the Royal Saxon, the British started the first of the Opium Wars. British warships destroyed numerous shore batteries and enemy warships, laid waste to several coastal forts, indiscriminately bombarding town after town with heavy cannon fire, even pushing up north to threaten the Imperial Palace in Beijing itself. The Imperial Government, forced to surrender, gave in to the demands of the British.British military superiority was clearly evident during the armed conflict. British warships, constructed using such innovations as steam power combined with sail and the use of iron in shipbuilding, wreaked havoc on coastal towns; such ships were not only virtually indestructible but also highly mobile and able to support a gun platform with very heavy guns. In addition, the British troops were armed with modern muskets and cannons, unlike the Qing forces. After the British took Canton, they sailed up the Yangtze and took the tax barges, a devastating blow to the Empire as it slashed the revenue of the imperial court in Beijing to just a small fraction of what it had been.
In 1842 the Qing authorities sued for peace, which concluded with the Treaty of Nanjing signed on a gunboat in the river, negotiated in August of that year and ratified in 1843. In the treaty, China was forced to pay an indemnity to Britain, open five ports to Britain, and cede Hong Kong to Queen Victoria. In the supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, the Qing empire also recognized Britain as an equal to China and gave British subjects extraterritorial privileges in treaty ports.
The US, at the same time, wanted to protect its interests and expand trade, ventured the USS Wachusett six-hundred miles up the river to Hankow about 1860. While the USS Ashuelot
a sidewheeler made her way up the river to Ichang in 1874. The first USS Monocacy a sidewheel gunboat began charting the Yangtze River in 1871. The first USS Palos an armed tug was on Asiatic Station into 1891, cruising the Chinese and Japanese coasts, visiting the open treaty ports and making occasional voyages up the Yangtze River. From June to September 1891, anti-foreign riots up the Yangtze forced the warship to make an extended voyage as far as Hankow, 600 miles upriver. Stopping at each open treaty port, the gunboat cooperated with naval vessels of other nations and repairing damage. She then operated along the north and central China coast and on the lower Yangtze until June 1892. The cessation of bloodshed with the Taiping Rebellion, Europeans put more steamers on the river. The French, not to sit idle and get rice crumbs, engaged the Chinese in war over the rule of Vietnam. The Sino-French Wars of the 1880s emerged with the Battle of Shipu having French cruisers in the lower Yangtze.
China Navigation Company was an early shipping company founded in 1876 in London, initially to trade up the Yangtze River from their Shanghai base with passengers and cargo. Chinese coastal trade started shortly after and in 1883 a regular service to Australia was initiated. Most of the company's ships were seized by Japan in 1941 and services did not resume until 1946. Robert Dollar was a later shipping magnate, who became enormously influencial moving Californian and Canadian lumber to
the Chinese and Japanese market.
Yichang or Ichang, 1600 km from the sea, is the head of navigation for river steamers; oceangoing vessels may navigate the river to Hankow, a distance of almost 1000 km from the sea. For about 320 km inland from its mouth, the river is virtually at sea level.
The Chinese Government, too, had steamers. It had its own naval fleet, the Nanyang Fleet, which fell prey to the French fleet. The chinese would rebuild its fleet,
only to be ravaged by another war with Japan , Revolution and ongoing inefficiency and corruption. Chinese companies ran their own steamers, but were second tier to European operations at the time.
Steamers came late to the upper river. The three gorges and the strong current hindered plans. Achibald Little attempted a voyage with the Lee-Chuan, and the Kuling, delays and weak engines
meant that he only succeeded in the first vessel in 1898. Little soon built the first truly successful boat, the Pioneer, about 1899--she plied the river for two more decades and was even the flagship for the Royal Navy on the China Station. There were a few commercial steamers on the upper river by the turn of the century and the Boxer Rebellion. The Commercial firms of Jardine Matheson, Butterfield and Swire, and Standard Oil had their own steamers on the river. Until 1881, the India and China coastal and river services were operated by several companies. In that year, however, these were merged into the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company, Ltd., a public company under the management of Jardines. The Jardine company pushed inland up the Yangtsze River on which a specially designed fleet was built to meet all requirements of the river trade. For many years, this fleet gave unequalled service.
Jardines established an enviable reputation for the efficient handling of shipping. As a result, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company invited the firm to attend to the Agency of their Shire Line which operated in the Far East. Standard Oil ran the tankers Mei Ping, Mei An, and Mei Hsia.
With the Treaty Ports, the European powers and Japan were allowed to float navy ships into China's internal waters. The British, US and French did this. A full international fleet featured on Chinese
waters: Austro-Hungarians, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, and German navy ships came to Shanghaii and the treaty ports. The Japanese engaged in open war with the Chinese twice, and Russians twice, over conquest of the Chinese Qing empire-- in the First and Second Sino-Japanese War 1895, and 1905;and the Russo-Japanese war of 1904. Incidently, both the French and Japanese navies were
heavily involved in running opium and narcotics to Shanghai, where it was refined into morphine. It was then transhipped by liner back to Marseille and France for processing in Germany and eventual sale in the US or Europe.
In 1909 the gunboat USS Samar changed station to Shanghai, where she regularly patrolled the lower Yangtze River up to Nanking and Wuhu. Following an anti-foreign riots in Changsha in April 1910, which destroyed a number of missions and merchant warehouses, Samar sailed up the Yangtze River to Hankow and then Changsa to show the flag and help restore order. The gunboat was also administratively assigned to the Asiatic Fleet that year, which had been reestablished by the Navy to better protect, in the words of the Bureau of Navigation, "American interests in the Orient." After returning to Shanghai in August, she sailed up river again the following summer, passing Wuhu in June but then running aground off Kichau on 1 July 1911. After staying stuck in the mud for two weeks, Samar broke free and sailed back down river to coal ship. Returning upriver, the gunboat reached Hankow in August and Ichang in September where she wintered over owing to both the dry season and the outbreak of rebellion at Wuchang in October 1911. Tensions eased and the gunboat turned downriver in July 1912, arriving at Shanghai in October. Samar patrolled the lower Yangtze after fighting broke out in the summer 1913, a precursor to a decade of conflict between provincial warlords in China. In 1919, she was placed on the disposal list at Shanghai following a collision with a Yangtze river steamer that damaged her bow.
The spanish boats were replaced in the twenties by the and were the largest, and next in size, and and the smallest. China in the first fifty years of the twentieth century, was in low-grade chaos. Warlords, revolutions, natural disasters, civil war and invasions contributed. Yangtze boats were involved in the Nanjing Incident in 1927 when the Communists and Nationalists broke into open war. The Chiang's massacre of the
Communists in Shanghai in 1927 furthered the unrest, US Marines with tanks were landed. River steamers were popular targets for both Nationalists and
Communists, and peasants who would take periodic pot-shots at vessels. During the course of service the second USS Palos protected American interests in China down the entire length of the Yangtze, at times convoying U.S. and foreign vessels on the river, evacuating American citizens during periods of disturbance and in general giving credible presence to U.S. consulates and residences in various Chinese cities. In the period of great unrest in central China in the 1920s, Palos was especially busy patrolling the upper Yangtze against bands of warlord soldiers and outlaws. The warship engaged in continuous patrol operations between Ichang and Chungking throughout 1923, supplying armed guards to merchant ships, and protecting Americans at Chungking while that city was under siege by a warlord army
The British had a series of Insect class gunboat which patrolled between Chungking and Shanghai. Cruisers and destroyers and Fly class vessels also patrolled. The most infamous incident was when USS Panay and HMS Bee in 1937,were dive bombed by Japanese airplanes during the Rape of Nanking. The Europeans were forced to leave the Yangtse River with the Japanese takeover in 1941. The former steamers were either sabotaged or pressed into Japanese or Chinese service.
See Also
*China Station
*The Sand Pebbles
*USS Asheville
*Brown water navy
*Yangtze Patrol
*HMS Amethyst
Major cities along the river
*Panzhihua
*Yibin
*Luzhou
*Chongqing
*Yichang
*Jingzhou
*Shashi
*Shishou
*Yueyang
*Xianning
*Wuhan
*Ezhou
*Huangshi
*
*Chaohu
*Chizhou
*Jiujiang
*Anqing
*Tongling
*Wuhu
*Hefei
*Chuzhou
*Maanshan
*
*Yangzhou
*Zhenjiang
*Nanjing
*Nantong
*Shanghai
*Fengdu
Crossings
Chongqing:
*Caiyuanba Bridge
*Chaotianmen Bridge
*Chongqing Second Bridge Yangtze River Bridge
*Baidicheng Suspension Bridge
*Masangxi Bridge
*Shibanpo Bridge
*Wushan Bridge
*Fengdu Bridge
*Maochaojie Bridge
*Wanxian Bridge
*LumMingYan Bridge
Hubei:
*Zhicheng Bridge
*Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Junshan Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Baishazhou Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Qingdao Road Yangtze River Tunnel
*Second Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Erqi Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Tianxingzhou Yangtze River Bridge
*Wuhan Yangluo Yangtze River Bridge
*Huangshi Yangtze River Bridge
Jiangxi:
*Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge
Anhui:
*Anqing Bridge
*Tongling Bridge
*Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge
Jiangsu:
*Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
*Runyang Bridge
*Jiangyin Suspension Bridge
*Sutong Bridge
Jiangsu and Shanghai:
*Chongqi Bridge
Shanghai:
*
*
Dams
By 2007, there are two dams on the Yangtze river: Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba Dam. The third one Xiluodu Dam is under construction. More dams are in planning stage, such as Wudongde, Baihetan, and Xiangjiaba.
Tributaries
The Yangtze River has over 700 tributaries but the principal tributaries are the following:
*Yalong River
*Minjiang River
*Jialing River
*Tuo he
*
Miscellaneous
*The Yangtze is home to at least two critically endangered species: The Chinese Alligator and the Chinese Paddlefish. In December of 2006, the Baiji was declared after an extensive search of the river revealed no signs of the dolphin's inhabitance; however, one was sighted soon after.
*Cheung Kong Holdings, from the form of Chang Jiang and named after the river, is the name of the holding company controlled by Li Ka-Shing, one of Asia's richest tycoons.
*In 2004 Martin Strel from Slovenia swam the river from the Tiger Leaping Gorge to Shanghai .
*In 1342 the Yangtze River in Jiangzu province was reported to have run dry. Water completely disappeared for a day and the riverbed became visible. This event occurred again on January 13, 1954.
*The river was first rafted from source to mouth in 1986 by all-Chinese teams attempting to beat a Sino-American team to the first descent. Ten of the rafters drowned. The event was widely followed by the Chinese press, and became a source of national pride.
*As the Yangtze is undergoing a truly astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam, Canadian documentary filmmaker Yung Chang decided to make this the project oh his new film. The result was a award-winning documentary called .
Further reading
*Van Slyke, Lyman P. 1988. ''Yangtze: nature, history, and the river''. A Portable Stanford Book. ISBN 0-201-08894-0
*Winchester, Simon. 1996. ''The River at the Center of the World:A Journey up the Yangtze & Back in Chinese Time'', Holt, Henry & Company, 1996, hardcover, ISBN 0-8050-3888-4; trade paperback, Owl Publishing, 1997, ISBN 0-8050-5508-8; trade paperback, St. Martins, 2004, 432 pages, ISBN 0-312-42337-3
Liao River
The Liao He is the principal river in southern Manchuria . The province of Liaoning and the Liaodong Peninsula derive their name from the river.
The Liao He originates as two stems in the west: the Laoha He in southeastern Inner Mongolia, the Xinkai He further north, and the Hulin He in the extreme northwest of Liaoning. The eastern stem of the river is known as the Dongliao He and rises in low mountains in central Liaoning. The two stems of the river meet near the junction of Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia and flow across a vast plain to the Bohai Gulf. There are two major tributaries of the river received on this plain: the and the Taizi He, both of which flow down from the range.
Several major cities are located on the Hun He , including the provincial capital, Shenyang and Fushun. Anshan is located in the far southeast of the basin, and Yingkou near the mouth.
The Liao He drains an area of over 232,000 square kilometres, but its mean discharge is quite small at only about 500 cubic metres per second - about one-twentieth that of the .
Like the Huang He, the Liao He has an exceedingly high sediment load because many parts of it flow through powdery loess.
The Liao He originates as two stems in the west: the Laoha He in southeastern Inner Mongolia, the Xinkai He further north, and the Hulin He in the extreme northwest of Liaoning. The eastern stem of the river is known as the Dongliao He and rises in low mountains in central Liaoning. The two stems of the river meet near the junction of Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia and flow across a vast plain to the Bohai Gulf. There are two major tributaries of the river received on this plain: the and the Taizi He, both of which flow down from the range.
Several major cities are located on the Hun He , including the provincial capital, Shenyang and Fushun. Anshan is located in the far southeast of the basin, and Yingkou near the mouth.
The Liao He drains an area of over 232,000 square kilometres, but its mean discharge is quite small at only about 500 cubic metres per second - about one-twentieth that of the .
Like the Huang He, the Liao He has an exceedingly high sediment load because many parts of it flow through powdery loess.
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between China and North Korea. The name comes from a word meaning "the boundary between two fields". The Korean name is the Korean pronunciation of the same Chinese characters.
From 2,500 above sea level on Baekdu Mountain, in the mountain range, on the China-North Korea border, the river flows south to Hyesan before sweeping 130 km northwest to Linjiang and then returning to a more southerly route for a further 300 km to empty into the Korea Bay between Dandong and .
The bordering Chinese provinces are Jilin and Liaoning.
The river is 790 km long and receives the water from over 30,000 km? of land. The Yalu's most significant tributaries are the litte clorado River , Heochun and Tokro rivers. The river is not easily navigable for most of its length: although at its widest it is around 5 km, the depth is no greater than 3 m and much of the river is heavily silted.
The river basin is the site where the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo rose to power. Many former fortresses are located along the river and the former capital of that Korean kingdom was situated at what is now the medium-sized city of , China along the Yalu, a site rich in Goguryeo era relics.
Because of its strategic location between China and Korea, the river has been the site of several battles, including:
*Battle of Yalu River – Sino-Japanese War
*Battle of Yalu River – Russo-Japanese War
The Korean side of the river was heavily industrialized during the , and by 1945 almost 20% of Japan's total industrial output originated in Korea. During the Korean War the movement of UN troops approaching the river provoked massive Chinese intervention from around Dandong. In the course of the conflict every bridge across the river except one was destroyed. The one remaining bridge was the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge connecting Sinuiju, North Korea to Dandong, China. During the war, the valley surrounding the western end of the river also became the focal point of a series of epic dogfights for air superiority over North Korea, earning the nickname "MiG Alley" in reference to the flown by the combined North Korean, Chinese, and forces.
Since the early 1990s, the river has frequently been crossed by North Koreans fleeing to China contrary to government policy.
The river is important for power, and one of the largest hydroelectric dams in Asia is in Sup'ung Rodongjagu, 100 m high and over 850 m long, located upstream from Sinuiju, North Korea. In addition the river is used for transportation, particularly of lumber from its forested banks. The river provides fish for the local population.
Geography
From 2,500 above sea level on Baekdu Mountain, in the mountain range, on the China-North Korea border, the river flows south to Hyesan before sweeping 130 km northwest to Linjiang and then returning to a more southerly route for a further 300 km to empty into the Korea Bay between Dandong and .
The bordering Chinese provinces are Jilin and Liaoning.
The river is 790 km long and receives the water from over 30,000 km? of land. The Yalu's most significant tributaries are the litte clorado River , Heochun and Tokro rivers. The river is not easily navigable for most of its length: although at its widest it is around 5 km, the depth is no greater than 3 m and much of the river is heavily silted.
History
The river basin is the site where the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo rose to power. Many former fortresses are located along the river and the former capital of that Korean kingdom was situated at what is now the medium-sized city of , China along the Yalu, a site rich in Goguryeo era relics.
Because of its strategic location between China and Korea, the river has been the site of several battles, including:
*Battle of Yalu River – Sino-Japanese War
*Battle of Yalu River – Russo-Japanese War
The Korean side of the river was heavily industrialized during the , and by 1945 almost 20% of Japan's total industrial output originated in Korea. During the Korean War the movement of UN troops approaching the river provoked massive Chinese intervention from around Dandong. In the course of the conflict every bridge across the river except one was destroyed. The one remaining bridge was the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge connecting Sinuiju, North Korea to Dandong, China. During the war, the valley surrounding the western end of the river also became the focal point of a series of epic dogfights for air superiority over North Korea, earning the nickname "MiG Alley" in reference to the flown by the combined North Korean, Chinese, and forces.
Since the early 1990s, the river has frequently been crossed by North Koreans fleeing to China contrary to government policy.
Economy
The river is important for power, and one of the largest hydroelectric dams in Asia is in Sup'ung Rodongjagu, 100 m high and over 850 m long, located upstream from Sinuiju, North Korea. In addition the river is used for transportation, particularly of lumber from its forested banks. The river provides fish for the local population.
Yalong River
The Yalong River, also called Ya-lung River is an 822 mile long river in the Sichuan province of southern China. It flows into the Yangtze River along the border with Yunnan. It is a tributary of the Yangtze River. It's source is on the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau in southeast Qinghai, and its confluence with the Yangzte is in north central Yunnan.
A roadless section in the headwaters was north west of Ganzue was first explored by Chinese rafters in the late 1990's, and a roadless section in southwest Sichuan was first explored by American kayakers in 2006. See
*"Yalong River." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclop?dia Britannica Premium Service
16 July 2005.
A roadless section in the headwaters was north west of Ganzue was first explored by Chinese rafters in the late 1990's, and a roadless section in southwest Sichuan was first explored by American kayakers in 2006. See
Sources
*"Yalong River." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclop?dia Britannica Premium Service
16 July 2005
Xiushui River
The Xiushui River is a river in Jiangxi, China that runs 200 km west to the Poyang Ho.
Xiliao River
The Xiliao River is a river in Inner Mongolia and Liaoning province, in northeast China. Its source is the Xilamulun River in Inner Mongolia. It is one of the headwaters of the Liao River.
Xilamulun River
The Xilamulun River is a river in Inner Mongolia, in northeast China. It flows through the grasslands of that region, forming a valley that is hospitable to both farming and herding. The valley was once home to the Khitan people.
The Xilamulun River is the source of the Xiliao River , which in turn is one of the headwaters of the Liao River.
The musical instrument ''xiqin'' , the ancestor of China's ''huqin'' family of bowed string instruments, is believed to have originated here with the Khitans, who were formerly called by the Chinese.
The Xilamulun River is the source of the Xiliao River , which in turn is one of the headwaters of the Liao River.
The musical instrument ''xiqin'' , the ancestor of China's ''huqin'' family of bowed string instruments, is believed to have originated here with the Khitans, who were formerly called by the Chinese.
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