| 59th | Top rivers of Asia |
| Red River | |||||||||||
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| The Red River, between Honghe and Nansha in Yunnan Province, China | |||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 紅河 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 红河 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Red River | ||||||||||
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| alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 元江 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Primary River | ||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||
| Vietnamese | Sông Hồng or Hồng Hà or Sông Cái or Sông Nhị or Nhị Hà |
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| Hani name | |||||||||||
| Hani | Lalsa baqma | ||||||||||
The Red River, also known as the Hong - Red, Song Cai, Song Ca - Mother River (Vietnamese), or Yuan River (Chinese), is a river that flows from southwestern China through northern Vietnam to the Gulf of Tonkin.
The Red River begins in China's Yunnan province in the mountains south of Dali. It flows generally southeastwardly, passing through Dai ethnic minority areas before leaving China through Yunnan's Honghe Autonomous Prefecture. It enters Vietnam at Lào Cai Province. It forms a portion of the international border between China and Vietnam. Once reaching the lowlands near Viet Tri, the river and its distributaries spread out to form the Red River Delta. The Red River flows past the Vietnamese capital Hanoi before emptying into the Gulf of Tonkin. Tonkin is the former name of the northern provinces of Vietnam and thus the eponymous body of water receiving the main river of "Tonkin".
The reddish-brown heavily silt-laden water gives the river its name. The Red River is notorious for its violent floods with its seasonally wide volume fluctuations. The delta is a major agricultural area of Vietnam with vast area devoted to rice. The land is protected by an elaborate network of dykes and levees.
In the 19th century, the river was thought to be a lucrative trade route to China. It was the forced opening of the Red River to European commerce that prompted the wars between France and the Vietnamese court (1883-1886), culminating in the conquest of Vietnam.
The Black River and Lo River are the Red River's two chief tributaries.
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