The Yellow River is at the heart of China
The Yellow River Hwang Ho WG) is at the heart of China, both historically and geographically. It is the second longest river in China after the Yangzi 3,400 miles [5,472 kms]. Rising in Qinghai close to the source of the Yangzi at 13,000 feet [3,962 meters] it heads over the mountains to Lanzhou, Gansu the ancient gateway city of China. Turning north into the dry Gobi desert it irrigates the ancient city of Yinchuan, Ningxia before taking a large loop around Shaanxi province picking up its load of loess silt on the way. It then turns north-east between Shanxi and Henan to reach the sea in Shandong.
Yellow comes from the color of the river's waters, for the river carries a heavy load of silt (loess called Yellow Earth picked up from an extensive plateau in Shaanxi, Shanxi and Gansu. It is perhaps the muddiest major river in the world, not only due to the silt but because of evaporation and infiltration in its lower half. The river can carry as much as 82 pounds [37 kgs] for every cubic meter of water. This heavy load of silt is both a great bonus and a curse. Like the lower Nile where the regular deposition of rich alluvial silts gave birth to the Egyptian Civilization, the Yellow River valley was the cradle for the creation of Chinese Civilization. The settlers who farmed the rich alluvial covered lands close to the River generated predictable harvests had an edge over the wandering herdsmen and hunters. In the upper stretches, the water from far away glaciers producing a steady, reliable flow throughout the year. The control of the river for irrigation led to many technological innovations. In the Spring and Autumn period separate kingdoms had to co-operate in order to manage the waters, which was another spur to cultural development. It has been said that the co-ordinated mass effort needed to try to tame the Yellow River is the very reason that a strong, authoritarian government was needed in China.
Yellow river, waterfall, river
Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River
It was only after the Han dynasty that it was called the ‘Yellow River’ previously just ‘The River’ would do. May be, in these days the land was rich in forests and it is the man made clearance of forest and farming methods that has greatly increased the loess load that the river transports and so its color has changed to yellow. The Chinese character for yellow is huáng originating from a picture of a precious object - a Jade pendant. Yellow or perhaps a better translation 'golden' has been the color of Emperor's robes since the Tang dynasty and the name of the legendary Yellow Emperor founder of China. The river and its color has been very important to the development of Chinese culture.
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BalasHapusvery nice post i am happy to read . hello sir ,
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longest river in the world