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 t ...

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 drai ...

of the upper

Yangtze River 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 it joins at

Yibin Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...

. 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 in the west and the Min Mountains 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 southwes ...

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 tributar ...

near

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

. In that area, the ancient Irrigation System and the modern Zipingpu 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, abo ...

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 animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

species recorded in the 1950s can be found today. The Sichuan Taimen, 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 i ...

, 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, i ...

. 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 as an irrigation and flood control project, it is still in use today. The system's infrastructure deve ...

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 an ...

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