The Hun River (渾河, "the muddy river") is a river in

Liaoning Province Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, and was formerly one of the largest tributaries of the

Liao River The Liao River () is the principal river in southern Northeast China, and one of the seven main river systems in China. Its name derived from the Liao region, a historical name for southern Manchuria, from which the Liaoning province, Liaodong ...

. It was also formerly known as Shen River (). Two of Liaoning's most important cities, the provincial capital

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the provi ...

and the seventh largest city

Fushun Fushun (, formerly romanised as ''Fouchouen'', using French spelling, also as Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun Rive ...

, are located on the Hun 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, 31 of which have catchment areas greater than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi). It flows through the most populous area of Liaoning Province, including the provincial capital and largest city in Northeast China, Shenyang, as well as the 10th largest city, Fushun.

Name

The name Hun River () means "the muddy river." This name comes from the Hun's fast flow speed and high sediment load, which leads to its muddy appearance. Historically the Hun was also known as Little Liao River (). The river's middle section was also formerly known as the Shen River (). The capital city Shenyang to the north of the river was named for the Shen River. The lower section is also known as the Clam River ().

Geography

The Hun River's headwaters arise from the Qian Mountains, a branch of the Changbai Mountains, where the river is also called Nalu River () or Red River (), and flows into the 5,437 cubic kilometres (1,304 cu mi) Dahuofang Reservoir (), which supplies drinking water to the surrounding cities of Shenyang, Fushun, Liaoyang, Anshan, Panjin, Yingkou, and Dalian. Until 1958, the Hun River joined the Wailiao River and then the Taizi River near Haicheng. Together, they formed the Daliao River, which drains into the Liaodong Bay. The confluence of the three rivers was known as "the Trident River." In 1958, a river engineering project was conducted to address flood control problem in the coastal area near Yingkou. The upper reaches of the Wailiao River at Liujianfang was blocked off, diverting the Liao River towards the Shuangtaizi River. This effectively separated the Hun and Taizi rivers from the main body of Liao River system. Since 1958 the Hun and Taizi rivers are considered an independent river system of their own, and are no longer part of the Liao.

References

Rivers of Liaoning {{China-river-stub