The Min River or Min Jiang () is a in central

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, China. It is 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 upper

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 ...

which it joins at

Yibin Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese Mandarin, Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min River (Sichuan), Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its ...

. Within China, it was traditionally taken as the main course of the upper Yangtze prior to extensive exploration of its sources.

Geography

The Min River flows in the general southern direction. It starts in north-central Sichuan, where its basin is limited by 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. ...

in the west and the

Min Mountains Min Mountains or Minshan () are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern Sichuan (the eastern part of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and adjacent areas of Mianyang Prefect ...

in the east. The river passes through the

Longmen Mountains The Longmen Mountains (), also tautologically referred to in English-language publications as the Longmenshan Mountains, are a mountain range in Sichuan province in southwestern China. Geography The range runs in a roughly northeast to southwest ...

and enters the plains 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 ...

near

Dujiangyan The Dujiangyan () is an ancient irrigation system in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China. Originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin (state), Qin as an irrigation and flood control project, it is still in use today. The system's infrast ...

. In that area, the ancient

Irrigation System Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been develop ...

and the modern

Zipingpu Zipingpu Dam (紫坪铺水利枢纽) is an embankment dam on the Min River near the city of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province in southwest China. It consists of four generators with a total generating capacity of 760 MW. Construction began in 2001 ...

dam are located. The Giant Buddha of

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 ...

is built into the stone banks of the Min river.

Names

Some 19th-century Western authors used the name Blue River as the "colloquial name" for the Minjiang, after the former local Chinese name ''Qingshui'' (, lit. "Clear water"), and the belief that the Min constituted the main course of 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 ...

, which was itself known to Europeans as the "Blue River".E.g., Moll, Herman.
The Empire of China and island of Japan, agreeable to modern history.
Bowles & Bowles (London), 1736. Accessed 13 August 2013.

Wildlife

A survey by biologist Deng Qixiang found that only 16 of the 40

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

species recorded in the 1950s can be found today. The

Sichuan Taimen ''Hucho bleekeri'', the Sichuan taimen, is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae), endemic to the Yangtze basin in China. Their typical habitat includes mountain streams and small rivers, typically being found in the cat ...

, a protected species, has not been seen in one stretch of river, the

Wenchuan Wenchuan County is a county in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, People's Republic of China. The county has an area of , and a population of 100,771 as of 2010. Wolong National Nature Reserve is a protected area located in ...

, for an entire decade.

History

Located along the Min River is the oldest surviving water management scheme built by hydraulic engineer Li Bing, helping to greatly expand the power of the Qin state, and triggering a population boom in the Chengdu plain. It was built about 2,300 years ago. The first western academic to research its history was

Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, in ...

. The scheme became known as the

Dujiangyan Irrigation System The Dujiangyan () is an ancient irrigation system in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China. Originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin (state), Qin as an irrigation and flood control project, it is still in use today. The system's infrast ...

Dams

The Min 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. A total of 27 dams are completed, under construction or planned for the river, as of March 2014. Those dams are listed below from downstream to upstream. * Pianchuangzi Dam – Planned, 740 MW * Longxikou Dam – Planned, 360 MW * Jianwei Dam – Planned, 360 MW * Shazui Dam – Planned, 250 MW * Banqiaoxi Dam – Planned, 30 MW * Yangliuhu Dam – Planned, 76.5 MW *

Zipingpu Dam Zipingpu Dam (紫坪铺水利枢纽) is an embankment dam on the Min River near the city of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province in southwest China. It consists of four generators with a total generating capacity of 760 MW. Construction began in 2001 a ...

– Completed, 760 MW * Yingxiuwan Dam – Completed, 135 MW * Taipingyi Dam – Completed, 260 MW * Futangba Dam – Completed, 360 MW * Shaba Dam – Under construction, 720 MW * Jiangsheba Dam – Completed, 96 MW * Yangmaoping Dam – Planned, 3.4 MW * Tongzhong Dam – Completed, 49.5 MW * Nanxin Dam – Completed, 9.6 MW * Shigu Dam – Completed, 2.7 MW * Zongqu Dam – Planned, 2 MW * Yaneryan Dam – Planned, 66 MW * Feihongqiao Dam – Planned, 120 MW * Jinlongtan Dam – Completed, 180 MW * Tianlonghu Dam – Completed, 180 MW * Xiaohaizi Dam – Completed, 48 MW * Lianhuayan Dam – Planned, 111 MW * Wulibao Dam – Planned, 157 MW * Longpan Dam – Planned, 72.6 MW * Xiningguan Dam – Planned, 37.2 MW * Hongqiaoguan Dam – Planned, 68.5 MW

References