Nanyang Basin
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The Nanyang Basin (simplified Chinese: 南阳盆地; traditional Chinese: 南陽盆地; pinyin: Nányáng Péndì; Jyutping: Naam4joeng4 Pun4dei6) is a major river basin, principally of the Han River (simplified Chinese: 汉水; traditional Chinese: 漢水; pinyin: Hàn Shuǐ; Jyutping: Hon3 Seoi2), located in the central inland part of the People's Republic of China, and thus forms part of the Middle Yangtze region. Much of its northern section is administered by Henan Province, with a smaller southern region of the basin lying in Hubei Province. Its total area is 46291 square kilometers, and it is one of the most populous basins in China, with around 20 million residents.
Geography
The basin lies between 80 and 140 meters above sea level.[1] Most of the minor tributaries within the basin feed into the Tangbai River (Chinese: 唐白河; pinyin: Tángbái Hé; Jyutping: Tong4baak6 ho4), which flows into the Han at the city of Xiangyang (Chinese: 襄阳; pinyin: Xiāngyáng; Jyutping: Soeng1joeng4).[1]
The basin also includes the source of the Huai River. Many other tributaries in the basin flow northward into the Yellow River. Thus the basin is a watershed of three major river basins, and is part of a transition zone between the north and the south of China, often forming a buffer zone in Chinese history.[2]
The basin is flanked on three sides by highlands: to the west are the Daba Mountains, to the north lie the eastern end of the Qinling Mountains, and to the east are the Tongbai Mountains, which separate the valley from the Huai River drainage.[1] To the south and southeast lies the Jianghan Plain, to which lowland access is provided through the Han River valley and the Yun River corridor, with the Dahong Mountains intervening.[1]
The basin is home to some of the major historic cities of central China. The eponymous city of Nanyang (simplified Chinese: 南阳; traditional Chinese: 南陽; pinyin: Nányáng; Jyutping: Naam4joeng4) is located in the north-central area of the basin. The other major city in the basin, Xiangyang, is an agglomeration of Xiangcheng and Fancheng on opposite banks of the Han River.
Suizhou in the southeast is where the tomb of Zeng Houyi, discovered in the 1970s, was discovered.
Xichuan County Chinese: 淅川县 in the southwest is presumed to be the cradle of the state of Chu, a major polity of early Chinese history.[1]
History
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References
- ^ a b c d e Flad, Rowan K.; Chen, Pochan (21 January 2013). Ancient Central China: Centers and Peripheries along the Yangzi River. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-85131-2. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ Feng, Li (17 August 2006). Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045–771 BC. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-45688-3. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
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