China's Rivers (3)

Originating at the northern foot of the Bayahar Mountains in Qinghai Province, the Huanghe is the second longest river in China. It traverses Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong from west to east before finally draining into the Bohai Gulf near Shandong Province. Its principal tributaries are the Taohe, Huaihe, Wuding, Fenhe, Weihe, Luohe and Qinhe rivers. It flows a total length of 5,464 kilometers and covers a drainage area of 752,400 square kilometers. The middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe are called by anthropologists and archaeologists “the cradle of Chinese civilization.” Many cities in the region such as Luoyang, aifeng and Anyang in Henan Province, Xi’an and Xianyang in Shaanxi Province were capitals of China’s great dynasties. But in spite of all its distinguished history, the Huanghe was long a region plagued with misery. Before 1949, the river was known as “China’s sorrow.” The river is stained a brownish yellow with silt carried from the Loess Plateau. As it passes through Mengjin County in Henan Province, the current slows and the silt is deposited to a depth of 10 centimeters each year on the riverbed. Throughout history, the river has repeatedly burst its banks and changed its course, causing extensive flooding in the surrounding countryside. Today, thanks to major ecological and water conservancy projects, the Huanghe no longer poses such a threat.

The Heilong River ( Black Dragon River) is one of the great rivers of Asia. Much of the northeastern border between China and Russia follows the course of the Heilong River, also known to the Russians as the Amur River. After passing beyond China’s borders, the river flows towards the northeast, ultimately emptying into the Pacific Ocean. It has a total length of 2,965 kilometers and a drainage area of 890,000 square kilometers inside China. Its main tributaries are the Jieya, Songhua and Wusuli rivers.

The Zhujiang River, the fourth longest in China, is the general name for three converging rivers: the Xijiang, Beijiang and Dongjiang rivers. The quantity of its discharge is second only to that of the Changjiang River. The Zhujiang River traverses Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Jiangxi, emptying into the South China Sea at Modaomen in Guangdong Province. It has a total length of 2,200 kilometers and a drainage area of 452,000 square kilometers.