Visting China's Sorrow

If you can think back to ninth grade global history, you'll remember learning that rivers acted as a cradle of life--the birthplaces of early civilizations. The Tigris and Euphrates helped build Mesopotamia. The Egyptians owed their success to the Nile. And the Indus River Valley made way for modern day India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. In this list, we also have the Yellow River (黄河 or Huáng Hé) which was the very start of ancient China.

 

The River is such a vital part of Chinese culture that it has even made it's way into it's folklore and legends--especially celestial lore. It is said that the Yellow River flows from heaven continuing on as a part of the Milky Way. Another legend tells the story of Zhang Qian, one of China's first diplomats and how he went on a journey to find the source of the river. After sailing for five days, he met a young girl spinning in the middle of a herd of cattle. When Zhang Qian asked her where he was, she handed him her weaving shuttle. When Zhang returned, the old astrologer, Yen Chün-p'ing, told him that the shuttle belongs to The Weaving Girl, Vega (as in the brightest star in the constellation, Lyra) and at the same time as Zhang's journey, he noticed a wandering star in the sky between the star, Vega, and the cow herd star, Altair (the brightest star in the constellation Aquila), once again, connecting the Yellow River to the heavens.

 

 

 

The Yellow River has been a huge part of the birth and growth of China for thousands of years now. But, much like the Nile River, while it is beautiful and life sustaining, it can also be devastating when floods hit. TheYellow River's floods are the only known natural disasters to kill over a million people at a time. The first recorded disaster hit in 1332-1333 which killed more than 7 million people. The next worst flooding occurred in 1931 that killed almost 4 million people and another flood in 1887 that killed almost 2 million. The reason for the flooding is the same reason behind the color of the water (which lends to it's name)--loess, a silt sized sediment that collects at the bottom of the river, creating natural dams which then lead to flooding. In fact, over the last 2,600 years, it's been recorded that the river has flooded almost 1,600 times, noticeably changed course 26 times, and drastically changed course nine times. Hence the other name the Yellow River is sometimes known as: China's Sorrow.

 

Images from the 1931 flood



From the time of the Warring States Era (starting in 475BCE) into Medieval times, the river
was also used as a form of warfare--both defensive and offensive. By building levees,
warriors and kings could protect their land and by building dams, they could flood enemy
territory.

The river starts in the Bayan Har Mountains in Tibet. Here, it is not known as the Yellow
River because at this point, it is not yellow. In fact, it's crystal clear before it flows through the
Loess Plateau located in Shanxi and Shaanxi (I know, it's confusing) Provinces. Because of
this, it is known by several names. In Tibet, it is called, "River of the Peacock" ( རྨ་ཆུ།=Ma Chu). In
Mongolia, it is known as the "Black River" and here in Inner Mongolia, it is sometimes called,
"Queen River" (Шар мөрөн=Šar Mörön). At the moment, the mouth of the river is located
in Shandong (but that's likely to change... again).



Because of the loess (and in recent years, pollution) there is a stark difference between the
water from the Yellow River and the Ocean when the river empties out at the mouth.

So, with a build up like that, when Adam and I learned that we were just a two hour walk from
the Yellow River, we knew it was time to get our walking shoes on and find China's Sorrow.

Now remember, Bayannur is basically in the middle of the desert. It's different from Buffalo
with the river, canal, and lakes and it's different from Hangzhou with West Lake. The Yellow
River was what kept Chinese life going thousands of years ago and it's what continues to
help irrigate farmland all throughout the Steppe and along it's shores today for 3,400 miles.

You can see Bayannur along the Yellow River's shores as well as Inner Mongolia's capitol of Hohhot.

So, on a Saturday when we had nothing else going on (even though, most days we don't
have a lot going on), we strapped on our walking shoes and began our two hour trek
southeast. Most of the journey took us through our little town by the college and into the
bustling streets of the downtown area but eventually we passed the city's train station and
entereda much smaller residential area.

As we left the big city behind us, we knew we had to be getting closer! 
 

It was a lot bigger than I expected! I think it might be bigger than the airport...

After about two hours of walking, we finally came to a stop on a bridge overlooking the Yellow River.

My first thought was, Yes. It's yellow. I am sure that a big reason behind the color is the loess silt but I couldn't ignore the trash all along the shore (I even spotted a toilet). Sadly, pollution is another factor to the color in today's day and age. Many scientists think the water is unfit for even agricultural use, it's so polluted. However, I am a sucker for natural beauty and (if I ignored the plastic bottles and clothes and other bits of trash) I could take this ancient river as it really is--a magnificent, beautiful thing that demands respect.

Now this area of the river here in Bayannur is a smaller bit of it that breaks off at the city of Dengkou and reconnects near Urad Qianqi so the actual main river is much wider and far grander than this but it was nice to get a taste of it in our first month here.

This area of the city is very quiet (though Bayannur is freakishly quiet for a Chinese city) and the river is surrounded by an ecological park which is trying to build up the beauty around the river. There are pavilions and sitting areas for you to relax and enjoy the view. The Chinese pagodas are bright and colorful but also hold a bit of a Mongolian feel which I loved seeing. Two bridges connect the banks of the river allowing for a nice afternoon stroll through nature (something that's a bit difficult to find in China sometimes).

It's very rare to see China work together with other cultures to make something beautiful. It's nice to see the Chinese and Mongolian influence on this pagoda.

As we crossed the bridge to the other side of the river, we stumbled upon what looked like a Mongolian settlement. Of course, we knew it wasn't legit. 1). It's in the middle of the city and not out in the grasslands and 2). It's clearly made out of concrete and plaster, not wood and sheep wool. Nevertheless, we've been hungry to see Mongolian culture and so we headed right over to explore. Strangely, all the buildings were locked and the only person there was a security guard who almost seemed afraid to see us! We're hoping to go back on one of the Mongolian holidays (sadly we're missing one of the biggest holidays: Naadam Festival but we'll be back for Genghis Khan's birthday on November 14th)... maybe then this place gets to see some action!

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Right now, we're desperate for an adventure! We brought only $500 with us when we arrived in China a month ago and while it's lasted us this long, we're now clinging to the last $20 we have until our first paycheck arrives. Our trip to the Yellow River was short and free and right now that's the only adventure I think we can afford! But hopefully soon we'll have more than $20 to work with and then we'll begin to explore Inner Mongolia properly!

For now, Баяртай!

Until Next Time,
Amanda

PS: I met Baymax on the way to the Yellow River!!