Xi River

Xi Jiang

Looking across the Xi River from Heshan to Jiujiang, Foshan City.

The Pearl River system including the Xi River
Country China and Vietnam
Basin features
Main source Gui Jiang and Xun Jiang in Wuzhou
River mouth The Pearl River Delta on the South China Sea
Tributaries
  • Left:
    He Jiang
Physical characteristics
Discharge
  • Average rate:
    7,410 m3/s (262,000 cu ft/s)[1]
Marble Hill (Cockscomb Rock) on the West River, around 1871
Xi River
Chinese 西江
Cantonese Jyutping Sai1 gong1
Hanyu Pinyin Xī Jiāng
Postal West River
Literal meaning West River

The Xi River (Chinese: 西江) is the western tributary of the Pearl River in China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It then flows east through Guangdong, and enters the Pearl River Delta just east of the Lingyang Gorge in Zhaoqing. The main branch of the Xi River flows southeast through the delta entering the South China Sea at Modao Men, just west of Macau. The major cities along the Xi include Wuzhou, Zhaoqing, and Jiangmen.

The other two main tributaries of Pearl River are the Dong River (literally, the East River) and Bei River (the Northern River).

The Xi River is navigable for its entire length. It is a commercial waterway of southern China, and links the delta cities to the interior. Over two thousand years ago, the Lingqu Canal was dug, connecting the Xi River basin (the Li River, which is a tributary of the Gui River) with the Xiang River, which flows into the Yangtze, thus providing a continuous waterway from the Pearl River Delta to the Yangtze Valley.

The entire Xi River system is the largest of the Pearl's tributaries at 2,197 kilometres (1,365 mi) in length, and its volume of flow is second in China only to that of the Yangtze River. It supplies water to many places in Guangxi, Guangdong and Macau.

Other transliterations of the river's name include Hsi River and Hsi Chiang.

Xi River system

Xijiang river system (italics referring to rivers flowing outside of Guangxi)
Fuchuan (富川江) He (贺江) Xi (西江)
Li (漓江) Gui (桂江)
Beipan River (北盘江) Hongshui (红水河) Qian (黔江) Xun (浔江)
Nanpan River (南盘江)
Rong (融江) Liu (柳江)
Long (龙江)
You (右江) Yong (邕江) Yu (郁江)
Zuo (左江)

Major cities along the river

References

  1. ↑ http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_5/GEO_PLATE_D-6.shtml

Coordinates: 22°03′37″N 113°28′45″E / 22.0602°N 113.4792°E / 22.0602; 113.4792

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