The Daliao River ( zh, s=大辽河, t=大遼河, p=Dàliáohé, "Great Liao River") is a major river system in eastern

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 ...

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

, and formerly the main

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of the lower

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 ...

until 1958. The Daliao River ''proper'' is formed from the confluence of three rivers at the border between

Anshan Anshan () is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population ...

Haicheng city Haicheng () is a county-level city in central Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China, located about southwest of the provincial capital Shenyang. It is under the administration of Anshan City, the seat of which lies to the northeast. ...

and Panjin's Panshan County, after where it runs a length of covering a

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

area of , before coursing meandrously southwest and draining into the Liaodong Bay just west of

Yingkou Yingkou () is a coastal prefecture-level city of central southern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, on the northeastern shore of Liaodong Bay. It is the third-smallest city in Liaoning with a total area of , and the ninth most popul ...

. The principal river of southern Northeast China, the Liao River, historically bifurcates into two distributaries near the Liujianfang Hydrological Station (六间房水文站) at Xinkaihe Town (新开河镇) of

's Tai'an County, forming the Liao River Delta. The eastern distributary, called the Wailiao River, was originally the larger one and the main body of lower Liao River. It travelled southwards to pick up two large

tributaries 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 drain ...

the Hun River and Taizi River, at a

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

locally referred as the "Trident River" (三岔河). After the three rivers merged, the resultant large river then adopted the new name as Daliao River. However, the low

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

and the flat, waterway-rich (and often rerouting) topography of the Liao River Delta region created a huge problem in

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

. During

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

seasons the

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

s from the

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea () is a marginal sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects to the east via the Bohai Strait. It has a mean depth of ...

could go as far inland as the Trident confluence, and when meeting the voluminous upstream water from the Liao River, would frequently exceed the capacity of river channels causing massive spill-over

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ...

s. This flood risk particularly threatened the cities of

(which is immediately adjacent to the Daliao River

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

and home to 2 million people) and Haicheng (which has over 1 million residents). In 1958, a

river engineering River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and be ...

project was conducted, and the upriver of the Wailiao River at the Liao River bifurcation was blocked off, redirecting the Liao River flow entirely towards the Shuangtaizi River (双台子河), the originally smaller western distributary of the

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...

. This separated the Wailiao, Hun and Taizi Rivers from Liao River permanently, making the Daliao River an independent river system since 1958.

Tributaries

* Wailiao River (, "outer Liao River"), was originally the main distributary of Liao River and the principal

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of Daliao River, but now only an often dry

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

channel remains upriver after the 1958 project. It however does pick up numerous small

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

s and old tributaries downstream, and winds southwards (serving as a border between Panjin's Panshan County and

's Tai'an County) before draining merely west of the confluence of Hun River and Taizi River. This 1.5 km confluence segment of the three rivers is locally known as the Trident River. * Hun River (, "muddy river"), historically also known as Little Liao River (小辽水) or Shen River (沈水), was formally the second largest tributary of Liao River. Running and draining a basin of , the Hun River has numerous tributaries of its own, 31 of which has catchment area greater than . It flows through the most populous area of Liaoning province, including the

provincial capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

and largest city

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 ...

, as well as the 10th 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 ...

. The river got its current name from the fast flow speed and high sediment load, which leads to its muddy appearance. :The Hun River's headwaters arise from the

Qian Mountains Qian Mountains or Qianshan (), a branch of the Changbai Mountains on the China-North Korea border, start from eastern Jilin Province, China, and extend to eastern and southern Liaoning Province, down to Liaodong Peninsula. Some of the prominent ...

, a branch of the

Changbai Mountains The Changbai Mountains ( simplified Chinese:长白山; traditional Chinese:長白山) are a major mountain range in Northeast Asia that extends from the Northeast Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, across the border bet ...

, where the river is also called Nalu River (纳噜水) or Red River (红河), and flows into the Dahuofang Reservoir (大伙房水库), which supplies drinking water to the surrounding cities of Shenyang, Fushun,

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...

, Panjin,

and

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on ...

. The river's middle section was also called Shen River, which gave name to the capital city Shenyang to its north, and the lower section is also called Clam River (蛤蜊河). * Taizi River (, "crown prince river"), historically also known as Yan River (衍水) or Liang River (梁水), was formally the third largest tributary of the Liao River, running and draining a basin of . The river was named according to the legend that it was the last site of refuge for Crown Prince Dan of Yan, who fled to

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

to resist Qin

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...

after the failed assassination attempt on the King of Qin. :Its headwaters arise from hill regions between

Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,655 ...

and

, and contains the famous Benxi Water Caves. Like its sister Hun River running parallel north of it, Taizi River flows through some of the most important agricultural and industrial regions of southeastern Liaoning, including the cities of

, Anshan and Liaoyang.

Other minor tributaries

* Xinkai River (, "newly opened river") * Hutou River (, "tiger head river") * Laodong River (, "labour river")

Tributaries

Other minor tributaries

See also