Qiantang River

"Qiantang" redirects here. For other uses, see Qiantang (disambiguation).

The Qiantang River, formerly known as the Hangchow River^[1][2][3] or Tsientang River, is a river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for 459 kilometers (285 mi) through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial capital Hangzhou before flowing into the East China Sea via Hangzhou Bay south of Shanghai. Its original name, the "Zhe River" or "Zhe Jiang", is the origin of the name of Zhejiang province. The river is also known, along with Hangzhou Bay, for having what is called by locals as the "Silver Dragon", the world's largest tidal bore, a phenomenon where the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) that can rise to a height of 9 meters (30 ft) and travels up the river or narrow bay at top speeds of 40 km/h (25 miles per hour) against the direction of the river or bay's current, and can be seen from miles away.^[4][5][6]

Qiantang River
Qiantang River Bridge
Simplified Chinese	钱塘江
Traditional Chinese	錢塘江
Postal	Tsientang River
Literal meaning	River of King Qian's Dyke
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qiántáng Jiāng Wade–Giles Ch'ien-t'ang Chiang IPA [tɕʰjɛ̌n.tʰǎŋ tɕjáŋ] Wu Romanization Chi-dhon kaon

map of the Qiantang watershed basin, in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi

The Liuhe Pagoda built in 1165 on the Yuelun Hill in Hangzhou during the Song dynasty faces the Qiantang River.

Etymology

Its upper stretch near the Anhui–Jiangxi border is also known as the Xin'an River (新安, "Newly Peaceful"); its middle stretch through the mountains of Zhejiang is also known as the Fuchun River (富春江, "Abundant Spring River"); and the former name of its lower stretch—the Zhe (浙) or Crooked River—gave Zhejiang Province its name.^[7]

Historically, it was first documented in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经) as Zhejiang River (浙江), later in Zhuangzi (庄子) as Zhe River (淛河), and in the Water Classic (水經) as Jianjiang River (漸江水). All those names probably originate from the Old Yue language of extinct Baiyue peoples.^[8] In the early 18th century, the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典) regarded Zhejiang River (浙江) as Crooked River for its crooked lower stretch and countercurrent tidal bore.^[9]

The origin of its current name, the Qiantang River (钱塘江), literally the River of King Qian's Dyke, however, has nothing to do with the King Qian of Wuyue. It previously referred to the lower stretch within the Qiantang County (钱塘县, former name of Hangzhou City) and later in the 20th century began referring to all stretches of the river.^[10]

History

 

The lower stretches of the Qiantang river as it empties into Hangzhou Bay

It was linked by the Eastern Zhejiang Canal to Shaoxing during the Spring and Autumn Period and to Ningbo's Yong River during the Three Kingdoms Period. It was linked by the Grand Canal to Beijing during the Sui dynasty. Its present name derives from a major dyke constructed near Hangzhou by the Tang warlord Qian Liu, who established the Wuyue Kingdom in the early 10th century.^[11]

Basin

Qiantang River is one of the largest rivers on the southeast coast of China. It runs through Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi provinces, and is also the largest river in Zhejiang. "Qiantang" originally refers to the name of the river below the gate of Hangzhou, but now refers to the whole river basin. Qiantang River basin generally is abundant rainfall with developed water system (total of 60 tributaries), which is feather distribution.^[12] If count from the north source (Xinan river), the length of Qiantang river is 588.73 km. While if count from the south source (Qu river), the length of Qiantang river is 522.22 km.^[13] The main rivers of Qiantang river basin are Majin river, Changshan river, Qu river, Lan river, Xinan river, Fuchun river and Qiantang river.

Hydrological characteristics

Overall, the runoff of the Qiantang River is abundant. However, the incoming water of Qiantang River is strongly impacted by seasonal variation. In general, the runoff from April to June can occupy about 50% of the total annual flow.^[14] Because the Qiantang River valley is located in the southeast coastal monsoon climate zone, the main source of runoff is atmospheric precipitation. The runoff and precipitation in the river valley show obvious consistency in both regional distribution and annual variation.^[15] The average annual discharge is 2.905×10¹⁰ cubic meters, and the average annual sediment discharge is 6.68×10^6 tons.^[16] In addition, the annual runoff of the Qiantang River and its tributaries showed significant changes in abundance and drought.

Tidal bore is one of the significant features of the Qiantang River. Due to the riverbed of the estuary (Hangzhou bay) sharply shrank and lifted, the tidal range increases along the way, resulting in the sharp deformation of tide waves.^[17] The average tidal range of Zhenhai on the south bank of Wankou was 1.69 meters, the average tidal range of Ganpu was 5.45 meters. The tidal current of Hangzhou Bay is a clockwise rotating tidal current and the speed is generally 15~20 m/s, The north shore can be up to 3~4 m/s. The average incoming tidal current of Ganpu station was 18,850,000 cubic meters per second.^[18] On the other hand, the river bed at the estuary of the Qiantang River is wide and shallow, forming a broad intertidal zone. Under the influence of seasonal runoff and tidal fluctuation, the riverbed can easily be violently deformed. In autumn, due to the strong tide, the main trough oscillates along the direction of the rising tide crest. In the season of abundant runoff, the main trough swings along the direction of ebb tide. Because of the process of main trough oscillation, the beach ground is easy to collapse and retreat quickly.^[19]

Tidal bore

 

King Qian Liu shooting the tidal bore

 

Tidal bore at the Qiantang River

The river and Hangzhou Bay are known for the world's largest tidal bore. The oldest known tide table (AD 1056) is for the Qiantang River and may have aided ancient travelers wishing to see the famous tidal bore.^[20] The tide rushing into the river mouth from the bay causes a bore which can reach up to 9 meters (30 ft) in height, and travel at up to 40 km per hour (25 miles an hour). Known locally as the Silver (or Black) Dragon, the wave sweeps past Hangzhou, menacing shipping in the harbor.

The tidal bore draws in tourists where in the middle of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, there would be crowds celebrating the wave in the "festival of the Silver Dragon" and thousands would line the streets and watch the tidal wave roll in from the sea.^[21] In August 2013, the tidal bore turned out stronger than expected due to Typhoon Trami, reaching more than twice its usual height as it broke on the flood barrier, sweeping it and injuring numerous spectators.

There have been attempts to surf the tidal bore. In ancient China, riding the bore was an important ritual but the practice only existed during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and peaked in the 12th–13th century before becoming banned and lost in time.^[22] Ancient surfers would ride the waves as part of a ritual dedicated to the god of waves or the "Dragon King", and also to help entertain the emperor. However the practise later became banned after officials criticised the tattooed surfers or "nongchaoers" as being arrogant people, who neglected their family obligations.^[23] The first person in modern history, documented to ride the bore was Stuart Matthews from England whose 1998 record was riding the bore for 1.9 km.^[24] Then, in October 2007, a group of international surfers brought by Antony Colas did several attempts, one wave being ridden continuously by French Patrick Audoy and Brazilian Eduardo Bagé for 1h10min, for 17 km. In September 2008, a group of American surfers convinced the Chinese government to allow them to surf a section of the river.^[25]

In November 2013, Red Bull held the first surf competition on the river, called the "Qiantang Shoot Out". It was also the first of its kind surf contest to ride on a tidal bore that was dubbed as the "most unusual wave in the world".^[26]

Ecology

The Qiantang River basin is rich in ecosystem types. Forest ecosystems in the west and south which are composed of evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests. The forest ecosystem with the widespread wetlands creates a variety of species. However, with the development of industry, the ecological environment of Qiantang River basin has deteriorated and soil erosion is becoming a serious problem. Although the forest coverage is high, the trend of islandization and fragmentation of wildlife native habitats is obvious, and biodiversity is under threat.^[27]

Notable points

Qiantang river tidal bore

Qiantang River Tidal Bore is an important scenic spot of Qiantang River. Generally, around August 15, Lunar Calendar is the best time to observe the tides. At that time, the largest Qiantang river tidal bore can be several meters.^[28][29] Before the arrival of the sea tide, a tiny white dot appeared in the distance, which turned into a silver thread in a blink of an eye. Later on, accompanied by waves of dull thunder, the white line rolled to the sea. In ancient Hangzhou, Phoenix mountain, Jianggan area were the best place to watch.^[30] Due to the change of geographical location, from the Ming dynasty, Haining, Hanguan was the first resort for tide observation, so it was also called "Haining Tidal Bore".

Qiantang river bridge

Qiantang river bridge, also called the first Qiantang River Bridge designed by Chinese bridge expert Yisheng Mao, which is a double-deck truss girder bridge spanning the Qiantang river in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, China. It is located at the southern end of Hangzhou city and about 700 meters to the east of Liuhe pagoda, between Nanxing bridge station of Zhejiang-jiangxi railway. It is the first double-deck railway and highway bridge designed and built by China itself, which is a milestone in the history of Chinese Bridges.^[31] Qiantang river bridge is 1453 meters long, 9.1 meters wide and 71 meters high. The upper deck of the bridge is a two-way two-lane highway with a design speed of 100 km/h, and the lower deck is a single-track railway with a design speed of 120 km/h.^[32] During World War II, the Qiantang River Bridge was hit by Japanese air raids. And then, the Qiantang River Bridge was blown up to the piers only, to resist the Japanese attack. It was repaired in 1948.^[33]

Culture

Qiantang River has been regarded as the birthplace of Wuyue culture. The characteristics of Wuyue culture are pardon, inclusive, intelligent, realistic, pioneering and brave, which also have been the cultural deposits displayed by Qiantang River.^[34] In addition, Liangzhu culture, southern Song dynasty culture, West lake culture and other regional cultures are also distributed in the area of Qiantang River basin. Liangzhu culture has a long history, which adds the thick and simplicity tone to the Qiantang River.^[35] The secularization and leisure of the southern Song dynasty culture, combined with the river crossing, have the charm of Qibao teahouse and Jianqiao old street, and contributed to the economic development of the dynasty.^[36]

Qiantang River has been deeply loved by ancient Chinese writers and artists, as can be seen from the example of, "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" by painter Gongwang Huang.^[37]

 

Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains

 

 

It was regarded as the culmination of ancient Chinese landscape painting and the peak of art. Zhou Mi's "observation tide" was praised as a literary classic and it still listed as a point article in the textbook of ancient Chinese literature. Sun Quan, as a hero and the ruler of the kingdom of Wu in The Three Kingdoms period.^[38][39] In modern times writer Dafu Yu, revolutionary writer and artist Yan Xia, and scientist Wang Chong are the famous persons born in Qiantang River Basin, and these people made an important contribution to the development of Qiantang culture.^[40][41]

Qiantang River is mentioned in The Tale of Kieu as the place where Wang Cuiqiao committed suicide.^[42] Additionally, it is mentioned in some versions of The Butterfly Lovers, as the river that the protagonists must cross in order to go to school in Hangzhou.^[43]

Tributaries

• Lan River
  • Jinhua River
  • Qu River
• Xinan River
• Fengshui River
• Lvzhu River
• Puyang River
• Cao'e River

References

Citations

1. "Memoirs of Robert Dollar". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 2022-12-09. The extreme north of the city is at the termination of the Grand Canal and the extreme south is on the Tsien Tang River, sometimes called the Hangchow River, which is about one and a quarter miles wide at this point.
2. Goodchild, Thomas (1911). "Northeastern Chehkiang, China: Notes on Human Adaptation to Environment". Bulletin of the American Geographical Society. 43 (11): 801–826. doi:10.2307/200020. ISSN 0190-5929. JSTOR 200020. Dzien-dang, or Hangchow River, and is one of the commonest trees to be found there.
3. The Nautical Magazine: A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs. Brown, Son and Ferguson. 1843. In passing the Hangchow Gulf , great care must be taken to avoid the indraft of the Hangchow river
4. Inertia, The (10 October 2017). "This Year's Silver Dragon Tidal Bore Was Incredible". The Inertia. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
5. surfclaw. . Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
6. "Silver Dragon | Science and the Sea". www.scienceandthesea.org. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
7. Paul A. Cohen (2000). "Chiang Kai-Shek". The History. Columbia University Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780231537292.
8. Li Daoyuan, Ye Yang, Chen Qiaoyi, Ye Guangting (2001). 水經注(八)江南諸水 [Commentary on the Water Classic (8):the Rivers to the South of the Yangtze] (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Taipei: Wu-Nan Book Inc. p. 1727. ISBN 9789570414851.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. (清) 张玉书. (2015). 康熙字典. She hui ke xue wen xian chu ban she. ISBN 9787509770924. OCLC 1002846669.
10. 钱塘江志 (in Chinese). 方志出版社. 1998. ISBN 9787801222787.
11. Barmé, Germeie R. (2012), "Glossary: Tides Chao 潮", China Heritage Quarterly, Australian National University College of Asia & the Pacific.
12. Cai, Lingming (2007). . Yangzi River. 38: 1. doi:10.16232/j.cnki.1001-4179.2007.08.006. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
13. Hou, Huilin (1987). . Zhejiang Academic Journal. 1: 164. doi:10.16235/j.cnki.33-1005/c1987.01.031 (inactive 31 January 2024). Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
14. Wang, Guizhi; Zhou, Chaosheng; Zhang, Shaoying (1982). . Journal of China Hydrology. 04: 55. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
15. Feng, Lihua (1990). . Scientia Geographica Sinica. 02: 177. doi:10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.1990.02.077 (inactive 31 January 2024). Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
16. Chen, Jinyu; Liu, Cangzi; Zhang, Chongle; Walker, H. Jesse (1990). "Geomorphological Development and Sedimentation in Qiantang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay". Journal of Coastal Research. 6 (3): 559–572. JSTOR 4297719.
17. Gao, Hongwei (2010). "The genesis of Qiantang river tide". Mathematics: 47. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
18. Wang, Guizhi; Zhou, Chaosheng; Zhang, Shaoying (1982). . Journal of China Hydrology. 04: 55. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
19. Chen, Taoxiao; Xie, Dongfeng; Zhu, yuliang (2013). . Zhejiang Hydrotechnics. 189: 1. doi:10.13641/j.cnki.33-1162/tv.2013.05.002. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
20. Zuosheng, Y.; Emery, K.O. & Yui, X. (1989). "Historical development and use of thousand-year-old tide-prediction tables". Limnology and Oceanography. 34 (5): 953–957. Bibcode:1989LimOc..34..953Z. doi:10.4319/lo.1989.34.5.0953.
21. Szydlowski, Mike. "Why The Silver Dragon returns to China every year". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
22. "The Forgotten Surfers of 10th Century China – Magicseaweed". Magicseaweed.com. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
23. "The Forgotten Surfers of 10th Century China – Magicseaweed". Magicseaweed.com. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
24. . National Geographic. 2010-10-28. Archived from the original on June 17, 2005. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
25. Cianciulli, Mike (2008-09-18). "China Surf Blog, Round Two: Final Day(s)". Surfline.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
26. Read, ·1 Min. "Kalani David & Makua Rothman win Red Bull Qiantang Shoot Out". Freesurf Magazine. Retrieved 2023-02-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
27. Yu, Haiyan; Yu, Jie; Chen, Yingxu; Hu, Zunying; Han, Mingchun; Wang, Feier (2008). "Study on ecological function regionalization of Qiantang river basin". Environmental Pollution & Control. 04: 86. doi:10.15985/j.cnki.1001-3865.2008.04.009. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
28. Tong, Xi (2011). "The first tide in the world – the Qiantang river tide". World of Junior High School Students (Eighth Grade Physics). Z6: 1. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
29. "Qiantang River". Travelchinaguide. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
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31. Yang, Xuanbo (2012). "A study of Qiantang River Bridge in the republic of China". Journal of Ningbo Polytechnic. 04: 83. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
32. Du, Xinquan (2012). . Public Security Science Journal. 133: 93. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
33. Liu, Qiong (2015). "Memory of the Qiantang river bridge". www.new.cn. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
34. Jin, Huaichun (2008). "Water and Chinese regional culture – a case study of Wu-yue culture". Journal of Hohai University (Philosophy and Social Sciences). 04. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
35. Zheng, Yunfei (2018). "Social formation and rice farming in Liangzhu culture period". Cultural Relics in Southern China. 01: 5–10. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
36. Zhao, Nina (2016). "The leisure purport of southern song culture and the beauty of design". Journal of Suihua University. 06: 83. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
37. Zhang, Tengwen (2019). "An analysis of huang gongwang's artistic style from the map of fuchun mountain". Yihai. 8: 58. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
38. "Persons in Chinese History – Wu Dadi 吳大帝 Sun Quan 孫權". ChinaKnowledge.de. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
39. Cui, Xia (2016). "Who is the hero in the world: an analysis of the image of Sun Quan in song dynasty poetry". Journal of Shandong University of Technology(Social Sciences Edition). 05: 77–81. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
40. He, Yifeng; Zhu, Fengjuan (2015). "Pay a tribute to Dafu Yu —— to commemorate the 70th anniversary of his martyrdom". Cultural Dialogue. 08. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
41. Xu, Bin (2018). "The connotation of the cultural spirit of Wang Chone—— for the 1990th Anniversary of Wang Chong's Birth". Journal of Zhejiang Gongshang University. 03: 78–83. doi:10.14134/j.cnki.cn33-1337/c.2018.03.007. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
42. VnExpress (2005-06-23). "Ám ảnh Tiền Đường". vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2021-04-28.
43. Zhou, JIngshu (1999). Liang Zhu wenhua daguan: Gushi geyao juan. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju. pp. 554–556. ISBN 9787101024296.

Sources

Journal articles

• "A Visit to the Hangchow Bore I" . Popular Science Monthly. Vol. 72. February 1908. ISSN 0161-7370 – via Wikisource.
• "A Visit to the Hangchow Bore II" . Popular Science Monthly. Vol. 72. March 1908. ISSN 0161-7370 – via Wikisource.

30°22′46″N 120°41′20″E / 30.3794°N 120.6889°E / 30.3794; 120.6889