FEN RIVER

Wade-Giles romanization Fen Ho, Pinyin Fen He, river in Shansi sheng (province), northern China. The Fen River is an eastern tributary of the Huang Ho. After rising in the Kuan-ts'en Mountains in northwestern Shansi, it flows southeast into the basin of T'ai-yan and then southwest through the central valley of Shansi to join the Huang Ho near Ho-chin. Its total length is approximately 340 miles (550 km). The Fen River and its tributaries drain the whole of central Shansi. Its basin falls into several separate sections: the high and rugged plateau drained by its headwaters to the east of the L-liang and Lu-ya mountains; the extensive and heavily cultivated basin of T'ai-yan; the narrow central valley, opening up into minor basins around Lin-fen and Ch'-wu; and finally the plains area in which the Fen River turns sharply west to join the Huang Ho. The Fen River has a torrential course with steep gradients and rapids and has never been a useful waterway except in its lower reaches. Junk traffic is possible as far as Ch'-wu (near Hou-ma), and small craft can navigate as far as Lin-fen. The plain around T'ai-yan has extensive irrigation systems, of which the most important is the Kuang-hui Canal. The Fen River valley was an early centre of civilization and has remained an important route, linking the Peking area with the strategically vital Shansi province and with the major land routes to Central Asia via Kansu province.