![201906 Beijing-Guangzhou Railway Lei River Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/201906_Beijing-Guangzhou_Railway_Lei_River_Bridge.jpg)
The Lei River () is a right-bank tributary of the middle
Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Dongting Lake, Lake Dongting Drainage basin, drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River (Sichuan), Min River ...
in
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
,
China. It is also the longest tributary and has the second largest
drainage system of the Xiang tributaries after the
Xiao River
The Xiao River ( ) is the Main Stream of the upper Xiang River located in Yongzhou, Hunan. As of 2011 Water Census of China, it has a length of from the headwaters to the confluence in the Ping Island of Yongzhou with the Xiang River West Branch ...
. The Lei River has two sources: the ''
Zhejiang River'' (), which rises in the ''Leishan Mountains'' () in the south of
Rucheng County
Rucheng County () is a county in Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Chenzhou.
Located in the southeastern corner of the province, the county is bordered to the northwest by Yizhang County, to the ...
, and the ''
Ou River'' (), which rises in the Wanyang Mountains () in the north of
Guidong County
Guidong County () is a county in Hunan Province, China, bordering Jiangxi province to the east. It is under the administration of Chenzhou prefecture-level City.
Located on the southeastern margin of the province, it is the easternmost county-le ...
. The two rivers join at Huangcaoping (),
Zixing City. The main stream of the Lei River runs generally south to northwest through Rucheng,
Zixing
Zixing () is a county-level city in Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of Chenzhou prefecture-level City.
Located on the southeast of the province, it is near to the north of the Chenzhou city proper. The city is bordered to t ...
,
Suxian,
Yongxing,
Leiyang
Leiyang () is a county-level city and the third most populous county-level division in Hunan Province, China. Leiyang is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hengyang. Located on the south of the province, the city is bordered ...
,
Hengnan and
Zhuhui counties and joins the Xiang at Leihekou () of Zhuhui District of
Hengyang
Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 l ...
. The main stream of the Lei River has a length of , with its tributaries, and the drainage basin covers an area of .
References
{{coord, 26.9271, 112.6395, type:river_region:CN, format=dms, display=title
Rivers of Hunan