Basin area 17,000 km² Country China | ||
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The Ulan Moron (Mongolian: ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠮᠥᠷᠡᠨ, Ulaan Mörön, "Red River"; Chinese: 乌兰木伦, Wūlánmùlún) or Tuotuo River (Chinese: 沱沱河, Tuótuó Hé, "Tearful River") is a river in Qinghai province in the People's Republic of China. Although the Dangqu (or Dam Chu) is the geographic source of the Yangtze River, the Ulan Moron has been officially recognized by the PRC as the main river. With its location in Inner Asia, it therefore belongs to the East China Sea watershed basin.
Map of Tuotuo River, China
It begins as melt-off from the Geladandong glaciers and runs to a confluence with the Dangqu, where they form the Tongtian River.
In Chinese, the character 河 originally described the Yellow River and 江 the Yangtze. In modern practice, a jiang is usually a longer river, while he varies from shorter rivers (as the Tuotuo) to creeks (such as Suzhou Creek in Shanghai).