SPLENDOR OF A GOLDEN AND EMERALD ENCOUNTER

The Yellow River, China's revered mother river, begins its journey on the snowcapped Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, flowing eastward with emerald clarity until it reaches the Loess Plateau in Gansu province.

- DENG ZHANGYU AND MA JINGNA

Yellow River Stone Forest in Baiyin, Gansu province.

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Here, at the threshold of this distinctive landscape, it meets the Taohe River, a major tributary, and undergoes a striking shift, taking on the golden hue that gives the river its name.

Just 90 minutes by road from Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, lies Liujiaxia Reservoir in Yongjing in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture, where the two rivers converge with dramatically different qualities.

On summer mornings, when mist drifts across the basin, the Yellow River appears surprisingly serene — its broad expanse of clear water contradicting the common image of a turbulent, muddy flow. By contrast, the sediment-heavy Taohe River carries the unmistakable yellow hue of the Loess Plateau.