The Yalong River ( Chinese : 雅砻江 , p Yǎlóngjiāng , w Ya-lung Chiang , IPA [jàlʊ̌ŋ tɕjàŋ] ), or Nyag Chu ( Tibetan : ཉག་ཆུ་ , z Nyag Qu ), is a major tributary river of the Yangtze River in Southwest China . With a length of 1,571 km (976 mi), the Yalong River flows from north to south through the Hengduan Mountains in western Sichuan Province .
6-872: The Yalong has its source in the Bayan Har Mountains on the Tibet–Qinghai Plateau in Chindu County , Yushu , Qinghai , where it is known as the Za Qu ( Chinese : 扎曲 ). Flowing southeasterly, the Yalong gradually turns south at Garzê and travels between the Shaluli Mountains to the west and the Daxue Mountains to the east. The Yalong River channel runs through a deep gorge for much of its length south of Garzê. The southern Sichuan-Tibet Highway crosses
12-787: The branches of the Kunlun Mountains . It separates the drainage areas of both the Yellow and the Yangtze rivers. The source of the Yellow River is the Yueguzonglie Basin ( Gyaring - Ngoring Lakes), which is located in the northern part of the range. The wizard Shang Ko in Barbara Hambly 's fantasy Bride of the Rat God (1994) is described by his grandson as "the greatest of the mages of China,
18-753: The Yalong at Yajiang in the middle of the river's course. In Liangshan Prefecture , the river wraps 150 km (93 mi) around the Jinping Mountains creating the Jinping Bend. Here, water from the Yalong River has been diverted under the mountains as part of the Jinping-II Dam hydroelectric project. The Yalong meets the main stem of the Yangtze (Jinsha) River in Panzhihua , Sichuan. The upper reaches of
24-499: The Yalong have traditionally been inhabited by the Tibetan nomads of the historic region of Kham . The lower course of the Yalong is deeply incised and is not conducive to human habitation. The lower course of the Yalong was historically the western limit of Chinese influence in the region. Since the 1980s, the Yalong has been heavily developed for hydroelectric power. A total of 23 dams are completed, under construction, or planned for
30-465: The last of the line of sorcerers of the Bayan Har Shan". The Bayan Har mountain range is also mentioned in the first episode of the anime Ranma ½ (1989), based on the manga series by Rumiko Takahashi , when Ranma and his father take a trip through China in order to perfect their martial training. In the story, they are both cursed by the (fictional) magical springs of Jusenkyo, which sets up
36-542: The river. Those dams are listed below from downstream to upstream. 26°36′20″N 101°48′04″E / 26.6056°N 101.801°E / 26.6056; 101.801 Bayan Har Mountains The Bayan Har Mountains , formerly known as the Bayen-káras or Bayan-Kara-Ula , are a mountain range in Qinghai Province , northwest China. The name is Mongolian for "Rich and Black". It can be viewed as one of
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