Hulan River

The Hulan River (Chinese: 呼兰河; pinyin: Hūlán Hé; English: Call Orchid) is a river in Heilongjiang Province, China.

The Hulan rises in the Lesser Khingan mountains, south of Yichun (47°13′12″N 128°34′35″E / 47.21995°N 128.57644°E / 47.21995; 128.57644). It flows west past Tieli and north of Suihua. After the confluence with the Tongken River, it turns south to join the Songhua River in Hulan County, where it flows into the new Dadingshan Reservoir, just east of Harbin (45°55′31″N 126°47′16″E / 45.92531°N 126.78767°E / 45.92531; 126.78767), .

The river meanders extensively across the Northeast China Plain, creating many bifurcations and oxbow lakes. The approximate length is 350 km, but there is often more than one stream, and the actual distance, including all the bends, is 532 km.[1] The area of the catchment basin is 31,207 km2.[2]

It has a wide floodplain of fertile black soil. After a comprehensive management plan for the river basin was implemented in the 1950s, it became a center of production for grain, flax, and sugar beet.[3]

There is a tributary called the Xiaohulan River (Little Hulan), which flows northwest to join the main river west of Tieli. Other tributaries include the Yijimi, Ougen, Liu, Gemuke, Nuomin, Ni, and Tongken Rivers.

On 1 April 2020, the river suffered pollution from Molybdenum and related refining materials, from a smelter in Yichun.[4]

  1. ^ Asian Development Bank (September 2005). "Songhua River Basin Water Quality and Pollution Control Management – Strategic Planning Report" (PDF). Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  2. ^ Asian Development Bank (December 2011). "Songhua River Flood Management Sector Project" (PDF). Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Heilongjiang and China's Food Security". Stratfor. 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  4. ^ "Waste molybdenum ore spill in China spreads 110 km downstream". Reuters. 1 April 2005. Retrieved 24 July 2020.