River · China
Liao River
The Liao River is the largest river in the south of north-eastern China. It crosses the wide Liaohe Plain and flows into the Bohai Sea, and the province of Liaoning shares its name.
Picture credit: 吴张帆 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Tomskyhaha (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Liao River?
The river starts here: Guangtou Mountain, Hebei province (West Liao) and Jilin province (East Liao).
It ends in the Liaodong Bay (Bohai Sea) at Panjin.
Countries on the river: China.
The story behind it
The Liao is formed by two branches. The West Liao comes from the dry uplands of Inner Mongolia, and the East Liao starts in Jilin province. After they meet, the river flows south across the wide Liaohe Plain. On its way it picks up lots of fine, powdery soil called loess, so the water is very muddy. In winter the Liao freezes, and it stays covered in ice for about three months. At its mouth near Panjin lies a huge wetland full of reeds. In autumn a small salty-ground plant called seepweed turns the tidal flats bright red, like a giant carpet, and people call this place the Red Beach. Red-crowned cranes live in the wetlands, spotted seals rest on the mudflats, and many rare Saunders's gulls nest here too.
Questions children ask
How long is the Liao River?
The Liao River is about 1 345 km long. Depending on how it is measured, some sources give about 1 390 km.
Why is the Red Beach red?
In autumn a plant called seepweed, which grows on the salty tidal flats at the river mouth, turns red. Then the coast near Panjin looks as if it were covered by a red carpet.
Does the Liao River freeze?
Yes, the river is covered in ice for about three months every year. In spring and summer, on the other hand, floods have often hit the lower valley.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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