The Path o/t Yellow River through China (1) Upper Reaches ; Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu.
The Yellow River is China's second longest river, measuring some 5464 kilometers (3.395 miles) in length. It is the world's 6th longest river.
The Yellow River is known in Chinese as Huang He and also as Huang Ho depending on spelling.
The drainage basin of the Yellow River, known as the Yellow River basin, is the third largest of all rivers in China, encompassing a surface area of around 750.000 square kilometers (290.000 square miles)(official: 742,443 km² (290,520 mi²).
It extends 1900 kilometers (1.180 miles) from West to East and 1100 km (684 miles) from South to North.
The China Report
Introduction to the Yellow River (Huang He - 黃河) - China's 2nd largest River
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The Path of the yellow river starts in the parts of Tibet today known as Qinghai Province where a small spring originates from the foothills of Bayan Har Mountains in South Qinghai Province (East Tibet) not far from the border with Sichuan Province.
To be exact, the river springs from the Northern Slopes of the Bayan Har mountains in the Yekuzonglie-basin at a height of +/- 4500 meters.
The source section, still divided into many seperate streams, flows mainly through pastures, swamps and knolls between the Bayan Har Mountains (巴顏喀啦山脈) and the Anemaqen (Amnye Machin) Mountains. Generally speaking, although a dusty unpaved road follows the Yellow River upstream for some distance, the very upper regions and wider source area can only be reached by riding animal or with use of tracked vehicles. In this very early section the river has several branches and flows through mostly
Schematic Map of the Flow Path of the Yellow River through China.
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The river forms the border with Sichuan Province for only a short stretch, then enters Gansu Province before re-entering Qinghai and flowing due Northward to arrive at Xining, the Capital of the Province. From there it is only a short distance eastward to reach the Gansu Province border where the mountainous upper 1/3 of the Yellow River comes to its end.
Google generated Satellite Image Map of the Longyangxia Dam, and China's 2nd largest hydro-electric dam in Qinghai Province. Today a new tourist attraction. Much of the historic sites along the Historic Longyang Gorge o/t Yellow River were forever destroyed and/or submerged beneath the Dam Lake.
MAQU COUNTY OF GANNAN PREFECTURE IN GANSU PROVINCE:
The first village set along the river in this southernmost region of Gansu Province is Muxihe (xiang), another remote small town situated many miles from true civilization. Forced in between two high cliffs of the gorge of the Yellow River, as yet, no road leads to it and the village can only be reached by using "alternative means".
Having passed over the (current day) border with Gansu Province, the river leaves the highest mountains behind and enters briefly into flat and fairly wide valley. Today this is the territory of the Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which makes up the southernmost parts of that Province. Just beyond the mountains, in a wide northward arc of the river lies the first small town, which is awancang (xiang), a small village set someways south of the county administrative center of Maqu (玛曲).
Although the Yellow River never really flows through Sichuan Province it does form parts of its borders with Gansu Province. Aong two relatively short sections the Yellow River it forms the border between Maqu County of Gannan Prefecture in Gansu Province and the neighboring XX Prefecture of Sichuan Province. Both sections are but a few miles long.
Only a kilometer or so beyond the small town of Awancang the Yellow River reaches the border with Sichuan Province, which it straddles twice before turning back northward. In the process of making a huge U Turn through the landscape it shapes the geographic feature known as the "shoe" of Gansu
YELLOW RIVER AS BORDER BETWEEN GANSU AND SICHUAN PROVINCES:
Huang-
Ren
HaiBei
Hai-
Dong
Hainan
Golmud
Golog
Yushu
Baima
Mts
Shan
Tangula
Wenquan
Serxu
Yushu
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Geographical overview of Qinghai Province(EastTibet)inWest-Chinawiththemainregions,populationcenters,lakes, landmarks, monumentsandscenicsights.
The Lajia Monastery is the most famous Tibetan Monastery situated along the length of the Yellow River. Relatively unknown to outsiders and remotely situated it is one of the most interesting historical and cultural relics of the entire region. The monastery itself is situated at the foot of the Aniqungong Mountain on the north bank of the river at well away from the main county town of Maqen in the mountains in the extreme north east of the Maqen County and Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. This is an ultraremote location which is not easy to pinpoint on any map of the regions let alone reach in person.
The ancient Monastery was first constructed on the orders of the 7th Dalai Lama Kelzang Gyatso (1708 AD - 1757 AD) who was a counterpart to the historically renowned Qianlong Emperor of the Manchurian Qing Dynasty (1644 AD - 1911 AD). The two had quite some dealings together.
LONGJIANG GORGE AND LONGJIANG GORGE HYDRO-ELECTRIC DAM:
The power station is near to the No. 214 national highway within Qiabuqia Town of Gonghe county.
uninhabited regions. The water is crystal clear and flows steadily between rolling hills and grassland and its main stream is known as "river of the peacock" (Tibetan: རྨ་ཆུ་; Wylie: r Ma chu, p maqu 玛曲) or Yogilangleb Qu. Only a few small villages consisting of a few buildings can be found in this wider area today.
