The Huai River (Chinese: 淮河; Pinyin: Huái Hé) is about mid-way between the Yellow River (Huang He) and the Yangtze River. Like them it runs from west to east. However, it does not flow all the way out to the sea, which makes it very vulnerable to flooding. The Huai River is considered - along with the Yangtze River - as one of the dividing lines between North China and South China. It has a length of 1,078 kilometers and a drainage area of 174,000 square kilometers. Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ... The Yellow River, (Chinese: 黃河; (help· info), Pinyin: Huáng Hé; Wade-Giles: Hwang-ho; literally, Yellow River), is 4,700 km long and is the second longest river in China, after the Yangtze. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa. ... Alternative meaning: In geology, North China (continent) and South China (continent) were two ancient landmasses that correspond to modern northern and southern China. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ...

The Huai River used to flow all the way to the sea through present-day northern Jiangsu province. However, beginning in 1194 the Yellow River to the north changed its course southwards to run into the Huai River, and changed back and forth several times over the next 700 years. The resulting silting was so heavy that after the Yellow River changed back to its northerly course for the last time in 1897, the Huai He is no longer able to go through its old course. Instead it pools up into Lake Hongze, and then runs southwards towards the Yangtze River. The North Jiangsu Irrigation Main Channel also diverts a bit of its water along its old historical course. Jiangsu (Simplified Chinese: 江苏; Traditional Chinese: 江蘇; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ... Events November 20 - Palermo falls to Henry VI, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire December 25 - Henry VI is crowned king of Sicily. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The unusual course of the river makes it extremely prone to flooding.

External links

• http://www.chinapage.com/river/huaihe/huaihe.html