Beipan River () is a river in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

provinces, China, and part of the great

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

basin.

Other names

The upper reaches in

and

were once known as the Zangke River.

Course

The Beipan River passes through the modern Chinese provinces of

and

. When reaching the border of

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

, the Beipan River (literally, the Northern Pan River) merges with the

Nanpan River The Nanpan River () has its source in the Yungui Plateau of eastern Yunnan Province. It then flows east, forming part of the border between Guizhou and Guangxi provinces. It joins with the Beipan River to become the Hongshui River The Hongs ...

(the Southern Pan River), forming the

Hongshui River The Hongshui River is a major river in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is one of the main rivers in the basin of the Xi River, which in its turn is one of the main tributaries of the Pearl River. Because it flows thr ...

, which continues to the southeast.

History

The river was significant in history as a communications pathway between the

Yelang Yelang, also Zangke, was an ancient political entity first described in the 3rd century BC in what is now western Guizhou province, China. It was active for over 200 years. The state is known to modern Chinese from the idiom, "Yelang thinks too ...

and

Nanyue Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establish ...

kingdoms.

Bridges

The river is crossed by the Duge Bridge, the world's highest, the

Qinglong Railway Bridge Qinglong Railway Bridge is the world's longest span concrete arch bridge located in Qinglong County, Guizhou. The bridge forms part of the High speed railway line between Guiyang and Kunming. It crosses the Beipan River just downstream of the G ...

, the

Guanxing Highway Guanxing Highway (Simplified Chinese:关兴高速公路, Traditional Chinese:關興高速公路) connects Guanling County and the city of Xingyi, both within Guizhou Province of China. Bridge The highway crosses the Beipan River on the Beipan R ...

via the

Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge The Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge or Beipanjiang River 2003 Bridge is a 366-metre-high suspension bridge on the Guanxing Highway near Xingbei Town (Xinbeizhen), Zhenfeng County, Guizhou Province, China. The bridge has a span length of 388& ...

, the Liupanshui-Baiguo Railway via the

Beipan River Shuibai Railway Bridge The Beipan River Shuibai Railway Bridge was the world's highest railway bridge from 2001 to 2016. The bridge spans a deep canyon on the Beipan River near the city of Liupanshui in Guizhou province, China. The arch bridge, with a maximum height ...

, and the

G60 Hukun Expressway G6, G.VI, G.6 or G-6 may refer to: International politics * G6 (EU), the six largest European Union members * Group of Six, a 1975 international summit which led to the G7 and G8 * 44th G7 summit, referred to as the "G6+1" or just "G6" due to ...

via the

Beipan River Hukun Expressway Bridge Beipan River Hukun Expressway Bridge is a suspension bridge near Guanling, on the border of the Anshun Prefecture, Guizhou, China. The bridge has a main span of 636 metres and is part of the G60 Shanghai–Kunming Expressway crossing the Beipan ...

. All of these bridges are among the highest in the world. There are other bridges under construction over the river that are also extremely high: * Beipan River Shuipan Expressway Bridge * Beipan River Wang'an Highway Bridge

Dams

There are a number of dams along the river including the

Guangzhao Dam The Guangzhao Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Beipan River near Guangzhao in Guanling County, Guizhou Province, China. The main purpose of the project is hydroelectric power generation with additional purposes of water regulation and irri ...

References