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Coordinates: 374648N 1191500E

Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He ( listen) is the third longest
river in Asia, after the Yangtze River and Yenisei River, and the Yellow River
sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of
(Hung H)
5,464 km (3,395 mi).[1] Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains
in Qinghai province of western China, it flows through nine
provinces, and it empties into the Bohai Sea near the city of
Dongying in Shandong province. The Yellow River basin has an
eastwest extent of about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 mi) and a
northsouth extent of about 1,100 km (680 mi). Its total
drainage area is about 752,546 square kilometers
(290,560 sq mi).
The Yellow River at the Hukou Falls.
Its basin was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization, and
it was the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. Country China
However, because of frequent devastating floods and course States Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia,
changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi,
Henan, Shandong
sometimes above the level of its surrounding farm fields, it also
has the names China's Sorrow and Scourge of the Han Tributaries
People.[2] - left Fen River (and many smaller rivers)
- right Tao River,
Wei River (and many smaller rivers)

Source Bayan Har Mountains


Contents - location Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai
- elevation 4,800 m (15,748 ft)
1 Name - coordinates 342931N 962025E
2 History Mouth Bohai Sea
2.1 Dynamics - location Kenli County, Shandong
2.2 Ancient times - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
2.3 Medieval times - coordinates 374648N 1191500E
2.4 Recent times
Length 5,464 km (3,395 mi)
3 Geography
Basin 752,546 km2 (290,560 sq mi)
3.1 Upper reaches
Discharge
3.2 Middle reaches
3.3 Lower reaches
- average 2,571 m3/s (90,794 cu ft/s)
3.4 Tributaries
- max 58,000 m3/s (2,048,251 cu ft/s)
- min 1,030 m3/s (36,374 cu ft/s)
4 Characteristics
5 Hydroelectric power dams
6 Crossings
7 Aquaculture
8 Pollution
9 In culture
10 See also
11 References
12 External links Map of the Yellow River in China
Name Yellow River

Early Chinese literature including the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu


dating to the Warring States period (475 221 BC) refers to the
Yellow River as simply (Old Chinese: *C.gaj,[3] modern
Chinese (Pinyin) H), a character that has come to mean "river"
in modern usage. The first appearance of the name (Old
Chinese: *N-ka C.gaj; Middle Chinese: Huang Ha[3]) is in
the Book of Han written during the Eastern Han dynasty about "Yellow River" in Simplified (top) and
the Western Han dynasty. The adjective "yellow" describes the Traditional (bottom) Chinese
perennial color of the muddy water in the lower course of the characters
river, which arises from soil (loess) being carried downstream. Chinese name
One of its older Mongolian names was the "Black River",[4] Simplified Chinese
because the river runs clear before it enters the Loess Plateau, Traditional Chinese
but the current name of the river among Inner Mongolians is
Postal Hwang Ho
atan Gol ( , "Queen River").[5] In Mongolia itself, it
is simply called the ar Mrn ( , "Yellow
Transcriptions
River").[6] Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Hung H
In Qinghai, the river's Tibetan name is "River of the Peacock"
(Tibetan: , Ma Chu; Chinese: s , t , p M Q' WadeGiles Huang2 Ho2
IPA [xw x ] ( listen)

History Wu
Romanization Wn Ghu
Yue: Cantonese
Dynamics
Yale Whng hh
Romanization
IPA [w h ]
Jyutping Wong4 ho4
Southern Min
Ti-l Ng h
Middle Chinese
The Yellow River Breaches its
Course by Ma Yuan (11601225), Middle Chinese Hwang Ha
Song Dynasty Old Chinese
BaxterSagart *N-ka [C.q]aj
The Yellow River is one of several rivers that are essential for (2014)
China's very existence. At the same time, however, it has been Tibetan name

responsible for several deadly floods, including the only natural
Tibetan
disasters in recorded history to have killed more than a million
people. The deadliest was a 133233 flood that killed 7 million
Transcriptions
people. Close behind is the 1887 flood, which killed anywhere Wylie r Ma chu
from 900,000 to 2 million people, and a 1931 flood (part of a THL ma chu
massive number of floods that year) that killed 14 million
Mongolian name
people.[7]
Mongolian
atan Gol
The cause of the floods is the large amount of fine-grained loess
carried by the river from the Loess Plateau, which is ar Mrn
continuously deposited along the bottom of its channel. The
sedimentation causes natural dams to slowly accumulate. These subaqueous dams were unpredictable and generally undetectable.
Eventually, the enormous amount of water has to find a new way to the sea, forcing it to take the path of least resistance. When this
happens, it bursts out across the flatNorth China Plain, sometimes taking a new channel and inundating any farmland, cities or towns
in its path. The traditional Chinese response of building higher and higher levees along the banks sometimes also contributed to the
severity of the floods: When flood water did break through the levees, it could no longer drain back into the river bed as it would
after a normal flood as the river bed was sometimes now higher than the surrounding countryside. These changes could cause the
river's mouth to shift as much as 480 km (300 mi), sometimes reaching the ocean to the north of Shandong Peninsula and sometimes
to the south.[8]

Another historical source of devastating floods is the collapse of upstream ice dams in Inner Mongolia with an accompanying sudden
release of vast quantities of impounded water. There have been 11 such major floods in the past century, each causing tremendous
loss of life and property. Nowadays, explosives dropped from aircraft are used to break the ice dams before they become
dangerous.[9]

Before modern dams came to China, the Yellow River was extremely prone to flooding. In the 2,540 years from 595 BCE to 1946
CE, the Yellow River has been reckoned to have flooded 1,593 times, shifting its course 26 times noticeably and nine times
severely.[10] These floods include some of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded. Before modern disaster management, when
floods occurred, some of the population might initially die from drowning but then many more would suffer from the ensuing famine
and spread of diseases.[11]

Ancient times
Historical documents from the Spring and Autumn period[12] and Qin Dynasty[13]
indicate that the Yellow River at that time flowed considerably north of its present
course. These accounts show that after the river passed Luoyang, it flowed along the
border between Shanxi and Henan Provinces, then continued along the border
between Hebei and Shandong before emptying into Bohai Bay near present-day
[10]
Tianjin. Another outlet followed essentially the present course.
The Yellow River as depicted in a
The river left these paths in 602 BC[12] and shifted completely south of the Qing dynasty illustrated map
(sections)
Shandong Peninsula.[10] Sabotage of dikes, canals, and reservoirs and deliberate
flooding of rival states became a standard military tactic during the Warring States
period.[14] As the Yellow River valley was the major entryway to the Guanzhong
area and the state of Qin from the North China Plain, Qin heavily fortified theHangu
Pass; it saw numerous battles and was also an important chokepoint protecting the
Han capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. Major flooding in AD 11 is credited with the
downfall of the short-lived Xin dynasty, and another flood in AD 70 returned the
[10]
river north of Shandong on essentially its present course.

Medieval times
From around the beginning of the 3rd century
, the importance of theHangu Pass was A map of China depicting the Yellow
reduced, with the major fortifications and military bases moved upriver to River's path (shown in blue in the
Tongguan. In AD 923, the desperate Later Liang general Duan Ning again broke the upper half of the map) in the early
19th century.
dikes, flooding 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2) in a failed attempt to protect his
realm's capital from the Later Tang. A similar proposal from the Song engineer Li
Chun concerning flooding the lower reaches of the river to protect the central plains from the Khitai was overruled in 1020: the
Treaty of Shanyuan between the two states had expressly forbidden the Song from establishing new moats or changing river
courses.[15]

Breaches occurred regardless: one at Henglong in 1034 divided the course in three and repeatedly flooded the northern regions of
Dezhou and Bozhou.[15] The Song worked for five years futilely attempting to restore the previous course using over 35,000
employees, 100,000 conscripts, and 220,000 tons of wood and bamboo in a single year[15] before abandoning the project in 1041.
The more sluggish river then occasioned a breach at Shanghu that sent the main outlet north towards Tianjin in 1048[10] and by 1194
blocked the mouth of the Huai River.[16] The buildup of silt deposits was such that even after the Yellow River later shifted its
course, the Huai could no longer flow along its historic course, but instead, its water pools into
Hongze Lake and then runs southward
toward the Yangtze River.

A flood in 1344 returned the Yellow River south of Shandong. The Yuan dynasty was waning, and the emperor forced enormous
teams to build new embankments for the river. The terrible conditions helped to fuel rebellions that led to the founding of the Ming
dynasty.[8] The course changed again in 1391 when the river flooded from Kaifeng to Fengyang in Anhui. It was finally stabilized by
the eunuch Li Xing during the public works projects following the 1494 flood.[17] The river flooded many times in the 16th century,
fected the river's lower course.[17]
including in 1526, 1534, 1558, and 1587. Each flood af

The 1642 flood was man-made, caused by the attempt of the Ming governor of Kaifeng to use the river to destroy the peasant rebels
under Li Zicheng who had been besieging the city for the past six months.[18] He directed his men to break the dikes in an attempt to
flood the rebels, but destroyed his own city instead: the flood and the ensuing famine and plague are estimated to have killed 300,000
of the city's previous population of 378,000.[19] The once-prosperous city was nearly abandoned until its rebuilding under the Kangxi
Emperor in the Qing Dynasty.

Recent times
Between 1851 and 1855,[10][16][17] it returned to the north amid the floods that
provoked the Nien and Taiping Rebellions. The 1887 flood has been estimated to
have killed between 900,000 and 2 million people,[20] and is the second-worst
natural disaster in history (excluding famines and epidemics). The Yellow River
more or less adopted its present course during the1897 flood.[16][21]

The 1931 flood killed an estimated 1,000,000 to 4,000,000,[20] and is the worst
natural disaster recorded (excluding famines and epidemics).
The Chinese Nationalist Army
On 9 June 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Nationalist troops under soldiers during the 1938 Yellow River
Chiang Kai-shek broke the levees holding back the river near the village of flood.
Huayuankou in Henan, causing what has been called by Canadian historian, Diana
Lary, a "war-induced natural disaster". The goal of the operation was to stop the
advancing Japanese troops by following a strategy of "using water as a substitute for soldiers" (yishui daibing). The 1938 flood of an
area covering 54,000 km2 (20,800 sq mi) took some 500,000 to 900,000 Chinese lives, along with an unknown number of Japanese
soldiers. The flood prevented the Japanese Army from taking Zhengzhou, on the southern bank of the Yellow River, but did not stop
them from reaching their goal of capturing Wuhan, which was the temporary seat of the Chinese government and straddles the
Yangtze River.[22]

Geography
According to the China Exploration and Research Society, the source of the Yellow River is at 34 29' 31.1" N, 96 20' 24.6" E in the
Bayan Har Mountains near the eastern edge of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The source tributuaries drain into Gyaring
Lake and Ngoring Lake on the western edge of Golog Prefecture high in the Bayan Har Mountains of Qinghai. In the Zoige Basin
along the boundary with Gansu, the Yellow River loops northwest and then northeast before turning south, creating the "Ordos
Loop", and then flows generally eastward across the North China Plain to the Gulf
of Bohai, draining a basin of 752,443 square kilometers (290,520 sq mi) which
[23]
nourishes 140 million people with drinking water and irrigation.

The Yellow River passes through seven present-day provinces and two autonomous
regions, namely (from west to east) Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia,
Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong. Major cities along the present course of the
Yellow River include (from west to east) Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Wuhai, Baotou,
Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and Jinan. The current mouth of the Yellow River is
located at Kenli County, Shandong. Zoig County, Sichuan.

The river is commonly divided into three stages. These are roughly the northeast of
the Tibetan Plateau, the Ordos Loop, and the North China Plain. However, different
scholars have different opinions on how the three stages are divided. This article
adopts the division used by theYellow River Conservancy Commission.[24]

Upper reaches
The upper reaches of the Yellow River constitute a segment starting from its source
in the Bayan Har Mountains and ending at Hekou Town (Togtoh County), Inner
Guide County, Qinghai in the Tibetan
Mongolia just before it turns sharply to the south. This segment has a total length of Plateau, upstream from the Loess
3,472 kilometers (2,157 mi) and total basin area of 386,000 square kilometers Plateau.
(149,000 sq mi), 51.4% of the total basin area. Along this length, the elevation of the
Yellow River drops 3,496 meters (11,470 ft), with an averagegrade of 0.10%.

The source section flows mainly through pastures, swamps, and knolls between the
Bayan Har Mountains, and the Anemaqen (Amne Machin) Mountains in Qinghai.
The river water is clear and flows steadily. Crystal clear lakes are characteristic of
this section. The two main lakes along this section are Lake Zhaling () and
Lake Eling (), with capacities of 4.7 billion and 10.8 billion m (166 and 381
billion ft3), respectively. At elevations over 4,290 m (14,070 ft)) above sea level they
are the two largest plateau freshwater lakes nationwide. A significant amount of land
in the Yellow River's source area has been designated as the Sanjiangyuan ("'Three
Rivers' Sources") National Nature Reserve, to protect the source region of the
Yellow River, the Yangtze, and the Mekong.

Flowing east at the eastern edge of the Amne Machin Mountains, the Yellow River
enters Maqu County in Gansu. Here, the river skirts through the high-altitude peat
bog known as the Zoig Wetlands and makes a sharp turn towards the northwest
forming the border between Maqu andZoig County in Sichuan. Flowing now along
the northern edge of Amne Machin, the river reenters Qinghai and gradually curves
Near Xunhua, Qinghai.
north towards the Longyang Gorge at Xinghai.

The valley section stretches from Longyang Gorge in Qinghai to Qingtong Gorge in
Gansu. Steep cliffs line both sides of the river. The water bed is narrow and the average drop is large, so the flow in this section is
extremely turbulent and fast. There are 20 gorges in this section, the most famous of these being the Longyang, Jishi, Liujia, Bapan,
and Qingtong gorges. The flow conditions in this section makes it the best location for hydroelectric plants. The Yellow River exits
Qinghai for the second and final time in these gorges and enters Gansu for the second time just before Liujia Gorge. Downstream
from the Yanguo Gorge, the provincial capital of Lanzhou is built upon the Yellow River's banks. The Yellow River flows
northeasterly out of Gansu and intoNingxia before the Qingtong Gorge.
After emerging from the Qingtong Gorge, the river comes into a section of vast
alluvial plains, the Yinchuan Plain and Hetao Plain. In this section, the regions along
the river are mostly deserts and grasslands, with very few tributaries. The flow is
slow. The Hetao Plain has a length of 900 km (560 mi) and width of 30 to 50 km (19
to 31 mi). It is historically the most important irrigation plain along the Yellow
River.

Middle reaches
Liujiaxia, Gansu.
The Ordos Loop formed by an enormous twist of the Yellow River, beginning at
Zhongning County in Ningxia and ending with a drastic eastward turn at its
confluence with the Wei at Tongguan in Shaanxi. However, the official division for
the middle reaches of the river run from Hekou in Togtoh County, Inner Mongolia,
to Zhengzhou, Henan. The middle reaches are 1,206 km (749 mi) long, with a basin
area of 344,000 square kilometers (133,000 sq mi), 45.7% of the total, with a total
elevation drop of 890 m (2,920 ft), an average drop of 0.074%. There are 30 large
tributaries along the middle reaches, and the water flow is increased by 43.5% on
this stage. The middle reaches contribute 92% of the river's silts.

The middle stream of the Yellow River passes through the Loess Plateau, where
substantial erosion takes place. The large amount of mud and sand discharged into At Lanzhou, Gansu
the river makes the Yellow River the most sediment-laden river in the world. The
highest recorded annual level of silts discharged into the Yellow River is 3.91 billion
tons in 1933. The highest silt concentration level was recorded in 1977 at 920 kg/m
(57.4 lb/ft3). These sediments later deposit in the slower lower reaches of the river,
elevating the river bed and creating the famous "river above ground". From Hekou
to Yumenkou, the river passes through the longest series of continuous valleys on its
main course, collectively called the Jinshan Valley. The abundant hydrodynamic
resources stored in this section make it the second most suitable area to build
hydroelectric power plants. The famous Hukou Waterfall is in the lower part of this
valley on the border ofShanxi and Shaanxi.
At Shapotou, Ningxia

Lower reaches
In the lower reaches, from Zhengzhou, Henan to its mouth, a distance of 786 km
(488 mi), the river is confined to a levee-lined course as it flows to the northeast
across the North China Plain before emptying into the Bohai Sea. The basin area in
this stage is only 23,000 square kilometers (8,900 sq mi), a mere 3% of the total,
because few tributaries add to the flow in this stage; nearly all rivers to the south
At Luoyang, Henan
drain into the Huai River, whereas those to the north drain into the Hai River. The
total drop in elevation of the lower reaches is 93.6 m (307 ft), with an average grade
of 0.012%.

The silts received from the middle reaches form sediments here, elevating the river bed. During 2,000 years of levee construction,
excessive sediment deposits have raised the riverbed several meters above the surrounding ground.

At Kaifeng, Henan, the Yellow River is 10 meters (33 ft) above the ground level.[25]

Tributaries
Tributaries of the Yellow River listed from its source to its mouth include:
White River
Black River
Huang Shui

Datong River
Daxia River
Tao River
Zuli River
Qingshui River
Dahei River
Kuye River The mouth of the Daxia River
Wuding River (coming from bottom right), flowing
Fen River into the Yellow River's Liujiaxia
Wei River (the Wei River is the largest of these tributaries) Reservoir in Linxia Prefecture,
Luo River Gansu
Qin River
Dawen River
Kuo River

Characteristics
The Yellow River is notable for the large amount of silt it carries1.6 billion tons
annually at the point where it descends from the Loess Plateau. If it is running to the
sea with sufficient volume, 1.4 billion tons are carried to the sea annually. One
estimate gives 34 kilograms of silt per cubic meter as opposed to 10 for the
Colorado
and 1 for the Nile.[10]

Its average discharge is said to be 2,110 cubic meters per second (32,000 for the
Yangtze), with a maximum of 25,000 and minimum of 245. However, since 1972, it
often runs dry before it reaches the sea. The low volume is due to increased Expansion of the Yellow River Delta
agricultural irrigation, increased by a factor of five since 1950. Water diverted from from 1989 to 2009 in five year
the river as of 1999 served 140 million people and irrigated 74,000 km (48,572 mi) intervals.
of land.[23] The Yellow River delta totals 8,000 square kilometers (3,090 mi).
However, with the decrease in silt reaching the sea, it has been reported to be
[26]
shrinking slightly each year since 1996 through erosion.

The highest volume occurs during the rainy season from July to October, when 60% of the annual volume of the river flows.
Maximum demand for irrigation is needed between March and June. In order to capture excess water for use when needed and for
flood control and electricity generation, several dams have been built, but their expected life is limited due to the high silt load. A
proposed SouthNorth Water Transfer Project involves several schemes to divert water from the Yangtze River: one in the western
headwaters of the rivers where they are closest to one another, another from the upper reaches of the Han River, and a third using the
route of the old Grand Canal.

Due to its heavy load of silt the Yellow River is a depositing stream that is, it deposits part of its carried burden of soil in its bed in
stretches where it is flowing slowly. These deposits elevate the riverbed which flows between natural levees in its lower reaches.
Should a flood occur, the river may break out of the levees into the surrounding lower flood plain and take a new channel.
Historically this has occurred about once every hundred years. In modern times, considerable effort has been made to strengthen
levees and control floods.

Hydroelectric power dams


Below is the list of hydroelectric power stations built on the Yellow River, arranged according to the first year of operation (in
brackets):
Sanmenxia Dam (1960; Sanmenxia, Henan)
Sanshenggong Dam (1966)
Qingtong Gorge hydroelectric power station (1968;Qingtongxia,
Ningxia)
Liujiaxia Dam (Liujia Gorge) (1974; Yongjing County, Gansu)
Lijiaxia Dam (1997) (Jainca County, Qinghai)
Yanguoxia Dam (Yanguo Gorge) hydroelectric power station(1975;
Yongjing County, Gansu)
Tianqiao Dam (1977)
Bapanxia Dam (Bapan Gorge) (1980;Xigu District, Lanzhou, Gansu)
Longyangxia Dam (1992; Gonghe County, Qinghai) Liujiaxia Dam, Gansu
Da Gorge hydroelectric power station (1998)
Li Gorge hydroelectric power station (1999)
Wanjiazhai Dam (1999; Pianguan County, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia)
Xiaolangdi Dam (2001) (Jiyuan, Henan)
Laxiwa Dam (2010) (Guide County, Qinghai)
Yangqu Dam (2015) (Xinghai County, Qinghai)
Maerdang Dam (2016) (Maqn County, Qinghai)
As reported in 2000, the 7 largest hydro power plants (Longyangxia, Lijiaxia,
Liujiaxia, Yanguoxia, Bapanxia, Daxia and Qinglongxia) had the total installed
capacity of 5,618 MW.[27]
Sanmenxia Dam, Henan
Crossings
The main bridges and ferries by the
province names in the order of
downstream to upstream are:[28][29][30]

Shandong

Dongying Yellow River Bridge


Shengli Yellow River Bridge
(Dongying)
Lijin Yellow River Bridge
(Dongying)
Binzhou Yellow River Road-
Railway Bridge
Binzhou Yellow River Highway Major cities along the Yellow River
Bridge
BinzhouLaiwu Expressway
Binzhou Yellow River Bridge (BinzhouZibo)
Huiqing Yellow River Bridge (BinzhouZibo)
Jiyang Yellow River Bridge (Jinan)
G20 QingdaoYinchuan Expressway Jinan Yellow River Bridge (Jinan)
Jinan Yellow River Bridge
Luokou Yellow River Railway Bridge(Jinan)
Jinan Jianbang Yellow River Bridge
BeijingShanghai High-speed Railway Jinan Y ellow River Bridge
(JinanDezhou) Pontoon bridge (Luokou Pontoon
BeijingTaipei Expressway Jinan Yellow River Bridge (JinanDezhou) Bridge simplified Chinese: ;
BeijingShanghai Railway Jinan Yellow River New Bridge (Jinan traditional Chinese: ; pinyin:
Dezhou) Luku Fqio) over the Yellow River
Pingyin Yellow River Bridge (Jinan-Liaocheng) in Jinan, Shandong
ShandongHenan

BeijingKowloon Railway Sunkou Yellow River Bridge (JiningPuyang)


Juancheng Yellow River Highway Bridge(HezePuyang)
Dongming Yellow River Highway Bridge(HezePuyang)
Henan

Kaifeng Yellow River Bridge (Kaifeng)


Zhengzhou Yellow River Bridge (Zhengzhou)
ShanxiHenan

Sanmen Yellow River Bridge (Sanmenxia)


ShaanxiHenan

Hancheng Yumenkou Yellow River Bridge


Ningxia

Yinchuan Yellow River Bridge (Yinchuan)


Inner Mongolia

Baotou Yellow River Bridge (Baotou)


Gansu

Lanzhou Yellow River Bridge


Zhongshan Bridge (Lanzhou)
Qinghai

Dari Yellow River Bridge

Aquaculture
The Yellow River is generally less suitable for aquaculture than the rivers of central
and southern China, such as the Yangtze or the Pearl River, but aquaculture is also
practiced in some areas along the Yellow River. An important aquaculture area is the
riverside plain in Xingyang City, upstream from Zhengzhou. Since the development
of fish ponds started in Xingyang's riverside Wangcun Town in 1986, the pond
systems in Wangcun have grown to the total size of 15,000 mu (10 km2), making the
town the largest aquaculture center inNorth China.[31]

A variety of the Chinese softshell turtle popular with China's gourmets is called the Qiankun bend in Yonghe County
Yellow River Turtle (). Nowadays most of the Yellow River Turtles eaten in
China's restaurants comes from turtle farms, which may or may not be near the
Yellow River. In 2007, construction started in Wangcun on a large farm for raising this turtle variety. With the capacity for raising 5
million turtles a year, the facility was expected to becomeHenan's largest farm of this kind.[32]

Pollution
On 25 November 2008, Tania Branigan of The Guardian filed a report "China's Mother River: the Yellow River", claiming that
severe pollution has made one-third of China's Yellow River unusable even for agricultural or industrial use, due to factory dischar
ges
and sewage from fast-expanding cities.[33] The Yellow River Conservancy Commission had surveyed more than 8,384 mi
(13,493 km) of the river in 2007 and said 33.8% of the river system registered worse than "level five" according to the criteria used
by the UN Environment Program. Level five is unfit for drinking, aquaculture, industrial use, or even agriculture. The report said
waste and sewage discharged into the system last year totaled 4.29b tons. Industry and manufacturing made up 70% of the discharge
into the river with households accounting for 23% and just over 6% coming from other sources.
In culture
In ancient times, it was believed that the
Yellow River flowed from Heaven as a
continuation of the Milky Way. In a
Chinese legend, Zhang Qian is said to
have been commissioned to find the
source of the Yellow River. After sailing
up-river for many days, he saw a girl
spinning and a cow herd. Upon asking
the girl where he was, she presented him
with her shuttle with instructions to
Qikou town along Yellow River in Shanxi Province
show it to the astrologer Yen Chn-
p'ing. When he returned, the astrologer
recognized it as the shuttle of the Weaving Girl (Vega), and, moreover, said that at the time Zhang received the shuttle, he had seen a
wandering star interpose itself between the Weaving Girl and the cow herd (Altair).[34]

The provinces of Hebei and Henan derive their names from the Yellow River. Their names mean, respectively, "North of the River"
and "South of the River".

Mother river, China's Sorrow, and cradle of Chinese civilization.

Traditionally, it is believed that the Chinese civilization originated in the Yellow River basin. The Chinese refer to the river as "the
Mother River" and "the cradle of the Chinese civilization". During the long history of China, the Yellow River has been considered a
blessing as well as a curse and has been nicknamed both "China's Pride" (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese:
; pinyin: Zhnggude Jio'o) and "China's Sorrow"[35] (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ;
pinyin: Zhnggude Tng).

When the Yellow River flows clear.

Sometimes the Yellow River is poetically called the "Muddy Flow" (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin:
Zhu Li). The Chinese idiom "when the Yellow River flows clear" is used to refer to an event that will never happen and is similar
to the English expression "when pigs fly".

"The Yellow River running clear" was reported as a good omen during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, along with the appearance of
such auspicious legendary beasts asqilin (an African giraffe brought to China by aBengal embassy aboard Zheng He's ships in 1414)
[36]
and zouyu (not positively identified) and other strange natural phenomena.

See also
Central Plain (China) Water resources of China
Geography of China Yellow River Cantata
He Bo Yellow River Map
List of rivers in China Yellow River Piano Concerto
North China Plain Yellow Sea
North China University of Water Conservancy and Red River (disambiguation)
Electric Power

References
1. Yellow River (Huang He) Delta, China, Asia(http://www.geol.lsu.edu/WDD/ASIAN/Huanghe/huange_he.htm).
Geol.lsu.edu (2000-02-28). Retrieved on 2013-02-04.
2. New York Times "A Troubled River Mirrors China's Path to Modernity (https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/world/asi
a/19yellowriver.html)". 19 November 2006 p. 4.
3. Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent."BaxterSagart Old Chinese Reconstruction"(http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.ph
p?id=1207). (1.93 MB), p. 41. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011.
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External links
The DELIGHT Project, Delta Information System for Geoenvironmental and Human Habitatransition
T
Listen to the Yellow River Ballade from the Yellow River Cantata
First raft descent of the Yellow River from its source in Qinghai to its mouth (1987)
Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in the eYllow River Basin UNESCO report

Works from the National Central Library about the Yellow River

"Illustrations of Guarding the Yellow River". wdl.org. World Digital Library.


Illustrated Work on the Storage and DrainageActivities at the Lakes and Rivers of the Y
ellow River and the Grand
Canal
General Atlas Depicting the Conditions of the Y ellow River Dykes in Henan Province

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