Dadu River
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The Dadu River (), known in
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
as the Gyelmo Ngul Chu, is a major river located primarily in
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
province, southwestern
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The Dadu flows from the eastern
Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
into the
Sichuan Basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributa ...
where it joins with the Min River, a
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
. Measured from its geographic source, the Dadu is actually longer than the Min and thus forms the
main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...
of the Min River system. Shuangjiangkou Dam, expected to be the tallest
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
in the world, is being built on the Dadu River.


Geography


Source

The Dadu River originates, in name, in
Danba Rongzhag (), also Danba () is a county of the eastern Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also refer ...
and ends in
Leshan Leshan, formerly known as Jiading or Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Sichuan Basin in southern Sichuan, abou ...
where it meets the Min River. The true source of Dadu, and thus the entire Min River system, however, lies in
Qinghai Province Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...
in the eastern
Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
. In this region there are multiple headwaters of the Dadu with nearly identical lengths that have resulted in competing claims as the true source of the Dadu. In 2013, the China Academy of Sciences announced they had located the geographic source of the Dadu in eastern Darlag County, Qinghai (). These headwaters () are a tributary of the Markog (), one of the two main upper stems of the Dadu along with the Darkog (). Traditionally, the source of the Dadu was considered to be in the
Golog Mountains Golog (Golok or Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ) is an autonomous prefecture occupying the southeastern corner of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China. The prefecture has an area of and its seat is located in Maqên County. ...
in
Jigzhi County Jigzhi County or Chik Dril (; ) is a county of Qinghai Province, China, bordering Sichuan to the southeast and Gansu to the northeast. It is under the administration of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The seat of Jigzhi County is in the Town ...
at the head of the Markog, but this source was found to be a few metres shorter than the true source. Similarly, the source of the Darkog in southern Darlag County is a mere shorter than the Ma'er Qu source. From the Dadu River's true source in Qinghai to the Min River's confluence with the Yangtze in Yibin, the length of the entire Min-Dadu River system is .


Course

The Dokog River in the west and the Markog River in the east both flow southeasterly from the
Bayan Har Mountains The Bayan Har Mountains, formerly known as the Bayen-káras or Bayan-Kara-Ula, are a mountain range in Qinghai Province, northwest China. The name is Mongolian for "Rich and Black". It can be viewed as one of the branches of the Kunlun Mountain ...
in Qinghai and into Sichuan Province. The two stems meet in Aba Prefecture, and continue south as the Dajin Chuan (). Here, the river flows between the
Daxue Mountains Daxue may refer to: * Daxue (solar term) (大雪), 21st solar term in traditional East Asian calendars *''Da Xue'', or ''Great Learning The ''Great Learning'' or ''Daxue'' was one of the "Four Books" in Confucianism attributed to one of Confu ...
to the west and the
Qionglai Mountains Qionglai Mountains () is a mountain range in the Sichuan Province of China. It runs in the general north-south direction, and is located mostly within the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in the north-central part of the province. ...
to the east. In
Danba County Rongzhag (), also Danba () is a county of the eastern Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan, Sichuan Province, China. The county seat is the town of Zhanggu (). Climate References External links

Populated place ...
, the Dajin Chuan meets the Xiaojin Chuan () and together become the Dadu River in name. The Dadu continues south through Luding until it turns east at
Shimian Shimian County () is both the southernmost and westernmost county in the prefecture-level city of Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China. The county seat, Miancheng Subdistrict (), and the neighboring town, Xinmian (), are often together referred to as Sh ...
. East of Hanyuan, the Dadu enters the
Dadu River Canyon Dadu may refer to: Places *Dadu or Khanbaliq, capital of the Yuan dynasty; in modern Beijing *Dadu District, Sindh, Pakistan ** Dadu, Pakistan, a town in Dadu District **Dadu railway station (Pakistan) ** Dadu Taluka * Dadu, Taichung, Taiwan ** ...
() before reaching the lowlands of the
Sichuan Basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributa ...
just below
Mount Emei Mount Emei (; ), alternately Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are know ...
. The Dadu River receives the
Qingyi River Qingyi may refer to: * Qingyi (Chinese opera) (青衣), a type of female role in Chinese opera * Qingyi, Sichuan (青义), a town in Mianyang, Sichuan, China * Qingyi Expressway, a common name for the G3016 Qingshuihe–Yining Expressway in Xinji ...
tributary and meets the
Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...
at
Leshan Leshan, formerly known as Jiading or Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Sichuan Basin in southern Sichuan, abou ...
. At the confluence of the Dadu with the Min, the Dadu possesses both greater water volume flow and a further source so it is considered the true course of the Min River system. From the confluence of the two rivers, the Min continues for another before meeting the
Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
at
Yibin Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...
.


History

The Dadu River marks the transition area between traditional
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
to the west and historic China to the east. For this reason, it has long been considered a frontier region and has hosted many conflicts. For
Tibetans The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
, the Dadu is part of the historical province of
Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...
. In the Chinese tradition, the Dadu forms the westernmost part of
Sichuanese culture Bashu culture (), sometimes also named Chongqing-Sichuan culture, refers to the culture of Sichuan province and Chongqing city, China and the surrounding areas, including parts of the neighboring provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, since the Han ...
.
Kangding Kangding (), also called Tachienlu and Dartsedo (; ), is a county-level city and the seat of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province of Southwest China. Kangding is on the bank of the Dadu River and has been considered the histor ...
, a historical trading post between Tibet and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, is located in the Dadu River basin. Upper Dadu River Basin traditionally consists of 18 rGyalrong Principalities, whose language, rGyalrongic, is a distinct branch in the
Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
language family. Completed in 803 CE, the
Leshan Giant Buddha The Leshan Giant Buddha () is a tall stone statue, built between 713 and 803 (during the Tang dynasty). It is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones that lies at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River in the southe ...
is a large statue carved into the rock at the confluence of the Dadu and Min Rivers. The Buddha is a popular tourist attraction today. The Kangding Louding earthquake of 1786 caused a
landslide dam A landslide dam or barrier lake is the natural damming of a river by some kind of landslide, such as a debris flow, rock avalanche or volcanic eruption. If the damming landslide is caused by an earthquake, it may also be called a quake lake. Some ...
on the Dadu. Ten days later, on June 10 1786, the dam broke and the resulting flood extended downstream and killed 100,000 people. It is the second-deadliest landslide disaster on record. In the 20th century CE, the Dadu became famous for its
Luding Bridge Luding Bridge () is a bridge over the Dadu River in Luding County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, located about 80 kilometers west of the city of Ya'an. The bridge dates from the Qing Dynasty and is considered a histo ...
, a historically important bridge crossed by the
Chinese Red Army The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army or Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, commonly known as the Chinese Red Army or simply the Red Army, are the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party. It was formed when Communis ...
while retreating from the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
troops during the
Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...
.


Dams

The Dadu is being heavily developed, primarily for
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
power. As of March 2014, a total of 26 dams are completed, under construction or planned for the river. Those dams are listed below from downstream to upstream. * Angu Dam – Under construction, 320 MW * Fahuasi Dam – Planned, 240 MW *
Shawan Dam Shawan may refer to: * Shawan, Missouri China * Shanwan, Hongjiang (沙湾乡), a township of Hongjiang City, Hunan * Shawan (, lit. "Sandy Bay"), a settlement in Shandong; see 1452 Yellow River floods * Shawan Ancient Town, a township in Panyu ...
– Under construction, 480 MW * Tongjiezi Dam – Completed, 600 MW * Gongzui Dam – Completed, 770 MW *
Shaping Dam Shaping can refer to: * In baking, shaping refers to the process step directly preceding proofing or final fermentation. * In electricity generation, maintaining reliable delivery, for example by use of pumped storage hydroelectricity. * In arch ...
– Programmed, 630 MW * Zhentouba Dam – Programmed, 950 MW * Shenxigou Dam – Under construction, 660 MW *
Pubugou Dam The Pubugou Dam () is a concrete face rock-fill embankment dam on the Dadu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River in Sichuan Province. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and its total generating capacity is 3,300 MW. ...
– Completed, 3,600 MW * Laoyingyan Dam – Programmed, 640 MW * Longtoushi Dam – Completed, 700 MW *
Dagangshan Dam The Dagangshan Dam ( zh, 大岗山水电站) is an arch dam on the Dadu River in Shimian County, Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China. The dam houses a hydroelectric power station with 4 x 650 MW generators for a total installed capacity of 2,600 MW. Co ...
– Under construction, 2,600 MW * Yingliangbao Dam – Programmed, 1,200 MW *
Luding Dam Luding may refer to: *Luding County, in Sichuan, China *Luding Bridge, in Luding County, China *Christa Luding-Rothenburger Christa Luding-Rothenburger ( Rothenburger, born 4 December 1959) is a former speed skater and track cyclist. She was b ...
– Completed, 920 MW * Huangjinping Dam – Under construction, 850 MW *
Changheba Dam The Changheba Dam () is a concrete rock-filled embankment dam on the Dadu River near Kangding in Sichuan Province, China. Initial construction on the dam began in 2006, before it was officially approved in December 2010 and impounded in 2016. Its ...
– Under construction, 2,600 MW *
Houziyan Dam The Houziyan Dam ( zh, 猴子岩水电站) is a hydroelectric embankment dam on the Dadu River in Danba County, Sichuan province, China. The dam is 223.5 m tall and withholds a reservoir with a normal capacity of 662 million m3. It supports a pow ...
– Under construction, 1,700 MW * Danba Dam – Programmed, 1,300 MW * Badi Dam – Programmed, 800 MW * Anning Dam – Programmed, 380 MW *
Jinchuan Dam Jinchuan may refer to: * Jinchuan Group (金川集团), mainland Chinese company * Jinchuan County (金川县), in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan * Jinchuan District (金川区), Jinchang, Gansu * Jinchuan campaigns, two mi ...
– Programmed, 860 MW * Shuangjiangkou Dam – Under construction, 2,000 MW * Busigou Dam – Planned, 360 MW *
Dawei Dam Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of ...
– Planned, 270 MW * Bala Dam – Planned, 740 MW * Xiaerxia Dam – Planned, 540 MW


In popular culture

* A song from the Chinese
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
'' The East Is Red'' is entitled "Across the Dadu River." * A 1980 Chinese film is titled
Dadu River The Dadu River (), known in Tibetan as the Gyelmo Ngul Chu, is a major river located primarily in Sichuan province, southwestern China. The Dadu flows from the eastern Tibetan Plateau into the Sichuan Basin where it joins with the Min River, a t ...
.


References


External links


The river and the bridge
{{China Rivers Rivers of Sichuan Tributaries of the Yangtze River