Beipan River () is a river in Guizhou and Yunnan 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 Yunnan and Guizhou were once known as the Zangke River.

Course

The Beipan River passes through the modern Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. When reaching the border of Guangxi, 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 t ...

, 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 establishe ...

kingdoms.

Bridges

The river is crossed by the

Duge Bridge The Duge Bridge (), also called the Beipanjiang Bridge, is a 4-lane cable-stayed bridge on the border between the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. As of 2021, the bridge is the highest in the world, with the road deck sitting over 565 metres (1 ...

, the world's highest, the Qinglong Railway Bridge, 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 Beipan River ...

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 R ...

. 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 irriga ...

References