Three Gorges

The Jialing River is a tributary of the Yangtze River with its source in Gansu province. It gets its name from its crossing the Jialing Vale in Feng County of Shaanxi. It was once known as Langshui or Yushui .

Overview

The Jialing River is 1119 km long. Its headwaters are the Bailong River and Xihanshui. The stretch from the confluence of the two rivers at Lianghekou in Lueyang , Shaanxi, to Zhaohua is considered to be the upper reaches of the river. The middle course is between Zhaohua and Hechuan. Below Hechuan to where it joins the Yangtze in Chongqing is the lower reaches of the river.

Characteristics

The Jialing River's most notable characteristic is its sinuous course. From Zhangwang Miao in Guangyuan to Longdongtuo in Hechuan, the distance as the crow flies is only slightly more than 200 km. However the river itself travels over 600 km. The most tortuous part of its course is between Nanchong and Wusheng.

Tributaries

There are large number of tributaries along the Jialing. The largest tributaries include Fu Jiang and Qu Jiang, both of which flow into the Jialing at Hechuan.

Major cities along the river

*Guang'an
*Langzhong
*Nanchong
*Hechuan
*Chongqing