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Huai River

geography Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Huai River is a major river in East China.

It sits almost halfway between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. These two other rivers are the longest in China. The Huai River flows through several different places. It starts in the Tongbai Mountain in Henan province. Then it moves through Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. The river is a very important part of the land. It helps mark a line between northern and southern China.

Water moves through the river in a specific way. It flows into a large area called Lake Hongze. From there, the water runs south as the Sanhe River. It passes by Gaoyou Lake and Shaobo Lake. Finally, the river empties into the Yangtze River at Sanjiangying. Some water also travels through the Subei Irrigation Canal. This path leads to Biandan Port at the sea. Other paths connect the river to the Xinyi River system.

Bengbu Huaihe Railway Bridge
Bengbu Huaihe Railway Bridge

History shows that the river used to be different. Long ago, it flowed directly into the Yellow Sea. This happened through a wide and level area. However, the Yellow River began to change things in 1194. It moved south and flowed into the Huai River. This brought a lot of silt into the basin. Silt is fine dirt that settles in the water. By 1897, the land had changed quite a bit. New hills and lakes formed from all that dirt.

These changes made the river very hard to manage. Water could not flow easily to the sea anymore. The Second Sino-Japanese War made things even harder. During that time, the Yellow River flowed through a breach. This lasted for nine years and disrupted the system. Because of this, the river is known for flooding. Between 450 and 1950, it had many major floods. On average, there were 94 major floods every century.

Many smaller rivers join the main Huai River. These are called tributaries. There are 15 main tributaries in the system. Some of these are the Hong River and the Ying River. There are also 21 tributaries with very large areas. People use these waters to irrigate their farmlands. In Jiangsu, the river is part of the Grand Canal. This is a large network of connected waterways. It helps people move water and goods around the region.

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File:Liang Huai yan chang ji si sheng xing yan tu. LOC gm71005050.jpg
Liang Huai yan chang ji si sheng xing yan...
File:Bengbu Huaihe Railway Bridge.JPG
Bengbu Huaihe Railway Bridge.JPG
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