TheLiao River (simplified Chinese:辽河;traditional Chinese:遼河;pinyin:Liáo Hé) is the principalriver in southernNortheast China, and one of the seven mainriver systems inChina. Its name is derived from the Liao region, a historical name for southernManchuria, from which theLiaoning province,Liaodong Peninsula, andLiao dynasty also derive their names.[1] The river is also popularly known as the "mother river" in Northeast China.[2] Coursing 1,345 kilometres (836 mi) long, the Liao River system drains acatchment basin of over 232,000 square kilometres (90,000 sq mi), but its mean discharge is quite small at only about 500 cubic metres per second (18,000 cu ft/s), about one-twentieth that of thePearl River. The Liao River has an exceedingly highsediment load because many parts of it flow through powderyloess.
The Liao River is also an important geographical landmark, as it divides the modern Liaoning province into two broad regions —Liaodong ("east of Liao") andLiaoxi ("west of Liao"). Historically, this demarcation though was not based on the river itself, but on a large wetland that once existed on the right (west) bank of the lower Liao River known as the Liao Mire (辽泽), which stretched east of theYiwulü Mountain to the Liao River fromXinmin toPanshan.
The Liao River is formed from the confluence of its two main tributaries, theXiliao River from the west, andDongliao River from the east. The western tributary resides entirely inInner Mongolia, and is formed by the confluence of theXar Moron River and the Laoha River at approximately 43° 25' N, 120° 45' E, before being reinforced by another tributary called theXinkai River at its lower section. The eastern tributary arises in westernJilin Province, and goes through an S-shaped course before meeting its counterpart near the junction region of Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia, approximately 42° 59' N, 123° 33' E.
The resultant river, theLiao Riverproper, then enters Liaoning Province and courses southwards through theNortheast China Plain, receiving numerous tributaries along the way. It makes a westward turn near Pingdingbao Town,Tieling County, and after receiving more tributaries, earns an infrequently used nicknameJuliu River (巨流河, "giant stream river"). The Liao River will then course southwest until it reaches near the Liujianfang Hydrological Station (六间房水文站) atTai'an County, and historicallybifurcates into twodistributaries, forming theLiao River Delta (辽河三角洲). The western distributary of thedelta, originally smaller, was called theShuangtaizi River (双台子河) until 2011, receives the tributary Raoyang River atPanjin'sPanshan County before draining into theLiaodong Bay of theBohai Sea west ofDawa County. The eastern distributary, originally the larger and the main body of lower Liao River, was called theWailiao River (外辽河, "Outer Liao River"). The Wailiao River travelled southwards to pick up two large tributaries, theHun River andTaizi River, at aconfluence locally referred as the "Trident River" (三岔河), where it then adopted the new nameDaliao River (大辽河, "Great Liao River") and drained into the Liaodong Bay just west ofYingkou.
However, the Liao River Delta has a flat topography made up of soft sediment soil, withmeandrous waterways that had a rich history ofrerouting. This coupled with the risk ofstorm surges due to the region's lowelevation, created a huge problem inflood control. This flood risk at the coastal section of the Liao River system was particularly threatening to Yingkou, a city immediately adjacent to themouth of Daliao River and home to 2 million people. In 1958, the upriver of the Wailiao River at Liujianfang was blocked off via ariver engineering project, redirecting the water flow from the Liao Riverproper entirely towards the Shuangtaizi River (which was renamed to simply the "Liao River" in 2011), effectively separating theHun River andTaizi River from the Liao River system. Therefore, the Daliao River system is considered an independent water system of their own since 1958, and the Hun and Taizi River are no longer tributaries of the Liao River. Also, due to the Wailiao River's upstream flow being cut off, the Liao River no longer has any distributaries, therefore the Liao River Delta technically also ceased to exist from 1958 onwards, however the term remains in use to describe the area ofPanjin between the Liao River's left bank and Wailiao/Daliao River's right bank.
Xiliao River (西辽河, "Western Liao River"), historically also known asHuang River (潢水), is the largest tributary of Liao River, running 449 kilometres (279 mi) and draining a basin of 136,000 square kilometres (53,000 sq mi). The Xiliao River is formed by the confluence ofLaoha River (老哈河) flowing from the southwest, andXar Moron River (西拉木伦河) flowing from the west, running its entire length eastwards withinInner Mongolia. It is joined at the lower course by a large tributary, theXinkai River (新开河), which drains the southeast slopes of theKhingan Mountains and is dry in its upper reaches except after thunderstorms, 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the city ofShuangliao, before turning southeast to join the Dongliao River to form the Liao Riverproper near the common border ofLiaoning,Jilin and Inner Mongolia.
Dongliao River (东辽河, "Eastern Liao River")，is the other major tributary of the Liao River, running 360 kilometres (220 mi), draining a basin of 11,500 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi), and has a rich catchment of 88 tributaries, 23 of which are of significant sizes. Itsheadwaters arise in the low mountains nearDongliao County inJilin Province, where more than 80% of its entire length resides. The Dongliao River then traverses a short west course through Liaoning Province, turns north back to Jilin before turning southwest to join the Xiliao River.
Hun River (浑河, "muddy river"), historically also known asLittle Liao River (小辽水) orShen River (沈水)，was formerly the second largest tributary of Liao River after Xiliao River. Running 415 kilometres (258 mi) and draining a basin of 11,500 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi), the Hun River has numerous tributaries of its own, 31 of which has catchment area greater than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi). It flows through the most populous area of Liaoning Province, including theprovincial capital and largest city (also in the entire Northeast China),Shenyang, as well as the 10th largest city,Fushun. The river got its current name from the fast flow speed and high sediment load, which leads to its muddy appearance. The Hun River's headwaters arise from theQian Mountains, a branch of theChangbai Mountains, where the river is also calledNalu River (纳噜水) orRed River (红河), and flows into the 5,437 cubic kilometres (1,304 cu mi)Dahuofang Reservoir (大伙房水库), which supplies drinking water to the surrounding cities of Shenyang, Fushun,Liaoyang,Anshan,Panjin,Yingkou andDalian. The river's middle section was also called Shen River, which gave name to the capital city Shenyang to its north, and the lower section is also calledClam River (蛤蜊河).
Before 1958, the Hun River joins the Wailiao River and then the Taizi River nearHaicheng — the confluence of the three rivers was also known as "the Trident River" — to form the Daliao River which drains into theLiaodong Bay. However in 1958, a river engineering project was conducted to address flood control problem in the coastal area nearYingkou. The upriver of the Wailiao River at Liujianfang was blocked off, diverting the Liao River stream away towards the Shuangtaizi River, effectively separating the Hun River and Taizi River from the main body of Liao River system. Therefore since 1958, the Hun and Taizi River were considered an independent river system of their own, no longer being tributaries of the Liao River.
Taizi River (太子河, "crown prince river"), historically also known asYan River (衍水) orLiang River (梁水), was named according to the legend that it was the last site of refuge forCrown Prince Dan ofYan, who was fleeing fromQinconquest after thefailed assassination attempt on theKing of Qin. It was formerly the third largest tributary of the Liao River, running 413 kilometres (257 mi) and draining a basin of 13,900 square kilometres (5,400 sq mi). The Taizi River, like the Hun River running parallel north of it, flows through some of the most important agricultural and industrial regions of southern Liaoning, including the cities ofBenxi, Anshan and Liaoyang. Like its sister river, the Hun River, the Taizi River has numerous tributaries, including two largest ones of which it is formed from the confluence. Its headwaters arise from hill regions betweenBenxi andFushun, and contains the famousBenxi Water Caves. Like Hun River, the Taizi River is no longer a tributary of Liao River since the obliteration of upstream Wailiao River in 1958.
