The Huai River (),
formerly romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language
A language is a structured system of communication used by humans, including speech (spoken language), gestures (Signed language, sign lan ...
as the Hwai, is a major river in
China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in . It is the world's , with a of more than 1.4 billion. China spans five geographical and 14 different countries, the in the world after . Covering an area of ap ...

. It is located about midway between the
Yellow River
The Yellow River (Chinese: , Jin: uə xɔ Mandarin
Mandarin may refer to:
* Mandarin (bureaucrat), a bureaucrat of Imperial China (the original meaning of the word)
** by extension, any senior government bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is ...
and
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest , the in the world and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the (Tibetan Plateau) and flows in a generally easterly direction to the . It is ...
,
the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to east. Historically draining directly into the
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea
This is a list of seas of the World Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of Saline water, salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% o ...

, floods have changed the course of the river such that it now primarily discharges into the Yangtze. The Huai is notoriously vulnerable to flooding.
The
Qinling–Huaihe Line
210x180px, The Heihe–Tengchong Line divided China into eastern and western halves. The "Qinling–Huaihe Line" further subdivides the eastern half into north and south
The Qinling–Huaihe Line () is a reference line used by geographers to disti ...
, formed by the Huai River and the
Qin Mountains
The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east-west mountain range
A mountain range is a series of mountains
ranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mounta ...
, is sometimes regarded as the geographical dividing line between
Northern and southern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in . It is the world's , with a of more than 1.4 billion. China spans five geo ...
. This line approximates the January
isotherm and the
isohyet
A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, or isarithm) of a function of two variables is a curve
In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line (geometry), line, but that does not have to be ...
in China.
The Huai River is long with a drainage area of .
[
]
Course
The Huai River originates in Tongbai Mountain in Henan province
Henan (; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is also ap ...
. It flows through southern Henan, northern Anhui
Anhui (; Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is l ...

, and northern Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; Postal romanization, formerly romanized Kiangsu) is an eastern-central coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, ...

where it pools into Lake Hongze
Hongze Lake or Lake Hungtse () is the fourth largest freshwater lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land
Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not permanently covered by water. The ...
.
Nowadays the Huai River then runs southwards as the Sanhe River by way of the Gaoyou Lake
Gaoyou Lake () is the sixth largest freshwater lake in , it is located between and . In a sense Gaoyou Lake is a manmade lake, and its creation is part of a long story about and hydraulic engineering in ancient China. Gaoyou Lake is now part of t ...
and Shaobo Lake
Shaobo Lake () is a freshwater lake in Jiangsu Province
Jiangsu (; ; Postal romanization, formerly romanized Kiangsu) is an eastern-central coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. ...
emptying into Yangtze River at Sanjiangying (三江营) near Yangzhou
Yangzhou, Postal Map Romanization, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, H ...

.
There is also a passage called the Huaihe Sea Entryway and Subei Irrigation Canal that passes Huai'an
Huai'an (), formerly called Huaiyin () until 2001, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province of East China, Eastern China. Huai'an is situated almost directly south of Lianyungang, southeast of Suqian, northwest of Yancheng, almos ...
empties into the sea at Biandan Port. A separate course runs north by way of the Huaimu River and Huai Shu River and connects the Huai River system with the XinYi River (part of the YiShuSi River system) which exits into the sea at GuanYun.
In part to circumvent flooding, in Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; Postal romanization, formerly romanized Kiangsu) is an eastern-central coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, ...

province the Huai river system is interconnected with different waterways and thereby forms part of the Grand CanalGrand Canal can refer to multiple waterways:
* Grand Canal (China) in eastern China
* Grand Canal (Ireland), between the River Shannon and Dublin in Ireland
* Grand Canal (Venice) in Venice, Italy
* Grand Canal d'Alsace in eastern France
*Grand Cana ...
.
History
Historically, the Huai River entered the Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea
This is a list of seas of the World Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of Saline water, salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% o ...

at Yunti PassYunti or Yinti may refer to either of the following Qing dynasty princes:
* Yinzhi, Prince Zhi (1672–1734), whose name is sometimes romanised as Yinti, the Kangxi Emperor's eldest son
* Yunti, Prince Xun (1688–1756), also known as Yinti, t ...
(modern day Yunti Village, in Huangwei Town of Xiangshui County) through a broad and level lower course. It was long used to irrigate the surrounding farmlands, and was the centre of an extensive network of canals and tributaries.
Beginning in 1194, however, the Yellow River
The Yellow River (Chinese: , Jin: uə xɔ Mandarin
Mandarin may refer to:
* Mandarin (bureaucrat), a bureaucrat of Imperial China (the original meaning of the word)
** by extension, any senior government bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is ...
to the north repeatedly changed its course southwards to run into the Huai River. The resulting silting was so heavy that after the Yellow River changed back to its northerly course for the most recent time in 1897, the geography of the Huai River basin was changed significantly by the creation of new high lands, lakes, and the built-up silt of the Yellow River's historical southern course. As a result, water from the midsection of the river could not easily flow into the lower section, while water in the lower section could not find an outlet to the sea. The problem worsened in the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global war
A world war is "a war
War is an intense armed conflict between states
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literatur ...
, when the Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that promotes the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of people),Anthony D. Smith, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, History''. Polity (publisher), Polity, ...
government, in an attempt to check the pace of the Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally ) is an island country
An island country or an island nation is a country
A country is a distinct territory, territorial body
or political entity. It is often referred to as the land of an in ...

ese invasion, flooded the lower Huai basin by opening the Yellow River's southern levee. The main stem of the Yellow River flowed through the levee breach for the next nine years, further disrupting the Huai river system.
The result of these changes was that water from the Huai River pooled up into Lake Hongze
Hongze Lake or Lake Hungtse () is the fourth largest freshwater lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land
Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not permanently covered by water. The ...
, and then ran southwards towards the Yangtze River. Major and minor floods occurred frequently, with the area suffering droughts in between floods. In the 450 years to 1950, the Huai River saw, on average, 94 major floods per century.
Attempts to solve the Huai River's problems have focussed on building outlets for the Huai River into the Yangtze River and the sea. Currently, the major part of the river's flow enters the Yangtze River via Lake Hongze. The North Jiangsu Main Irrigation Canal
The North Jiangsu Main Irrigation Canal () (often called the Subei Canal) is located in the lower reaches of the Huai River
The Huai River (), formerly romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics
Linguistics is the sc ...
also diverts some of its water along its old historical course to the sea, and is planned to be upgraded with a new parallel channel. Several former tributaries also carry some water to the sea.
Tributaries
There are many tributaries of the Huai River. There are 15 main tributaries cover an area of more than 2000 km2 each, and 21 main tributaries have a catchment area larger than 1000 km2.
[/]
The main tributaries on the Huai river (listed from upstream to downstream) are as follows:
References
External links
Huai River
{{Authority control
Rivers of Jiangsu
Rivers of Henan
Rivers of Anhui
Tributaries of the Yangtze River