Jialing River

The Jialing River is a big river that flows into the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It got its name from the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi.

One special thing about the Jialing River used to be its very clear, green water. The river has a winding path, especially near the end of its journey. From a place called Zhangwang Miao (Temple of Zhangfei) in Langzhong to where it meets the Yangtze River, the straight-line distance is 223 kilometres (139 miles). But the river itself twists and turns for 1,117.3 kilometres (694.3 miles). The most twisty part runs between Nanchong and Wusheng County.

Names

The name Jialing became well-known during the Tang Dynasty. Before that, people mostly called the river the Ba. It was also sometimes called the Lang and the Yu. In the 1800s, people in Sichuan called it the Small or Little River, especially when comparing it to the larger Jinsha and Yangtze rivers.

Geography

The Jialing River starts in a place called Jialin, which means "the tomb of Jia" in Chinese. Jia was the last king of the State Zhao, who was taken to the State Qin. The river flows through Gansu before moving into Shaanxi and then into Sichuan.

The longest part of the Jialing River begins in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. The whole river is about 1,345 kilometres long. It joins with another river called the Bailong River in Guangyuan and then flows to meet the Yangtze River in Chongqing.

Important smaller rivers that join the Jialing River include the Xihan River, the Fu River, and the Qu River. Many cities, such as Tianshui, Baoji, Longnan, Guangyuan, Langzhong, Nanchong, and Chongqing, are located along the Jialing River.

Fauna

The Jialing River has 151 kinds of fish. Fifty-one of these fish types live only in the Yangtze River area.

History

The Jialing River has a rich history. Long ago, the areas around the Han and Jialing rivers were important to the ancient state of Ba. Major cities were built where the rivers met. Later, when the state of Chu grew, the Jialing River became more important.

There are interesting stories about the Jialing River from long ago. One tells of an artist named Wu Daozi who was asked to draw the river. He traveled along the river and, it's said, finished his drawing very quickly from memory.

In the late 1800s, many ships traveled on the Jialing River, and several towns built places to make and fix ships. After a big war ended in 1949, people worked hard to make the river easier for ships to use all year long.