KAN RIVER

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Kan Chiang, or (Pinyin) Gan Jiang, river, chiefly in Kiangsi sheng (province), China. The Kan River is one of the principal southern tributaries of the Yangtze River. Its headwaters rise in Kwangtung province, where the Ta-y Mountains divide southwestern Kiangsi from Kwangtung. This upper stream is called the Chang River. Another stream, the Kung River, rises in the Chiu-lien Mountains in the far south of Kiangsi. These two streams flow together near the city of Kan-chou, and from there the Kan River flows north through Kiangsi province into Lake P'o-yang and thence into the Yangtze. The river's valley provided an important route in historical times from Canton in Kwangtung to the Yangtze valley and the north. The Kan River below Chi-an, in Kiangsi, is navigable by small steamers in summer high water, although in winter these craft can only reach Ch'ing-chiang. Above Chi-an the river is much obstructed by rapids, and the 95 miles (150 km) from Chi-an to Kan-chou takes some nine days by junk. The upper stream of the Chang River is navigable by small craft to Ta-y, as is the Kung River to Hui-ch'ang, from where easy passes lead into Kwangtung. This route was used for communication between Canton and the Yangtze valley before 1840, when all foreign trade was concentrated in Canton; imports to central China were brought in and tea exports shipped south via this route. With the construction in 1937 of the main rail link between Canton and Han-k'ou in Hupeh province via the alternative western route through Hunan province, the importance of the Kan River, except for local transport, declined. In addition to the various streams that form its headwaters, the Kan River has two major tributaries, the Hsin River, which joins it below its junction with Lake P'o-yang and flows westward from the Chekiang province border, and the Chin River, which flows eastward from the border of Hunan, joining the main stream some distance above Nan-ch'ang. These two valleys provide the major east-west route across the north of Kiangsi. The total length of the Kan River is 506 miles (815 km).