Huang River

Called "China's sorrow," or Huang Ho in Chinese, the Huang (Yellow) River is the second-largest river in China, flowing 5,954 kilometers from its origins in the Bayan Harshan Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in western China until it empties into the Bo Hai Gulf. The Huang River derives its name from the yellow color of the silt in the water. Each year, tons of silt are deposited on the riverbed, causing annual flooding. The Huang River flows east and then northeast through Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia Provinces and then through Inner Mongolia before turning south, forming the border of Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces. From there, the Huang turns east through Henan and Shandong Provinces before emptying into the Bo Hai Gulf.

Throughout China's long history, the Huang River has overflowed its banks, causing extensive damage to nearby farmland and surrounding communities. Dikes have been built to stem the flooding but have to be continually rebuilt to prevent the river from overflowing its banks. The river has also changed course many times, causing untold damage. During the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), the Huang River changed its course from northern to southern Shandong Province, flooding 7,769 square kilometers of farmland. Between1853 and 1855, the river began flowing through northern Shandong Province, destroying large areas of farmland. In modern times, General Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975) ordered his troops to destroy the dikes along the river in Henan Province, causing disastrous effects, including the drowning of 1 million Chinese civilians.

The lower region of the Huang River is considered the birthplace of Chinese civilization, because archaeologists have discovered sites dating as far back as 5000 BCE and have chronicled the emergence of the Yangshao culture (5000–3000 BCE) and the Longshan culture (3000–2200 BCE) on the North China Plain along the Huang River. Since 1949, the Chinese government has accomplished many flood control and reforestation projects to conquer the capricious nature of the river.

Liu, Jiang. (1980) China's Largest River. Beijing: Foreign Language Press.

National Geographic Society. (1982) Journey into China. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.