Lian River (South China Sea)

This article is about the river in Guangdong. For the river in Guangxi, see Rong River.

Rong River
Location
Country	China
State	Guangdong
Physical characteristics
Source	Mt. Luhe County Fenghuangshan (Phoenix)
• location	Huanglonglang, Luhe County, Shanwei prefect, Guangdong province, China
Mouth	South China Sea
Length	247 km (153 mi)
Basin size	4,408 km2 (1,702 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Dongqiaoyuan Hydrological Station
• average	112 m3/s (4,000 cu ft/s)
• minimum	0 m3/s (0 cu ft/s)
• maximum	3,830 m3/s (135,000 cu ft/s) July 1986
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Heng, Wujingfu, Rongjiang North Branch

The Rong(Lian) River is a smaller river in the eastern portion of Guangdong province with its mouth at Shantou, 9 km or so south of the southern branch of Han River mouth. From its origin near Phoenix Mountain in the southwest of the catchment, the river flows generally eastward before joining the North Branch, at which point it turns to the southeast and follows a sinuous lower course before emptying into the South China Sea. For more than half of this lower section, the river forms a long, shallow estuary. This estuary in particular would be a thriving estuarine ecosystem, however, urban development and industry has reshaped the estuary and made the once clearwater river one of China's most polluted. Shantou and the nearby natural harbor is now the economic center of eastern Guangdong. There are several tributaries of the Rongjiang, including the Shashui, Hengjiangshui, Longtanshui and North Branch. All the major tributaries are left bank tributaries, draining the southern half of a costal range of mountains. The Mei River and its right bank tributaries drain the northern half of the same range. The river's length has been modified, with water resources control projects including the Daxi, Qiantang, Wushi and Sanzhou Dam water gates having been constructed in the main stream. Total reservoir storage capacity is 569 million m3. In addition to Shantou, two county level cities, Jieyang and Jiexi, are very important from an economic point of view. In 1990, water quality in the river could be identified as grade II, III and IV from the upper river reaches to down stream, however this has really deteriorated. However, the small river basin is home to quite a few scenic spots including the Ji Gong Dian park, Longgui waterfall, a gorge on the North Branch (it goes by many names), and the Tonghuahuzi waterfall. The average annual precipitation for the river basin was 2,033 mm and annual discharge was 112 m3/s for the period 1954-1979.

See also

• Guiyu Town

References

• "Rong Jiang" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-04-08.