Chialing Chiang

a river in China, a left tributary of the Yangtze River. The Chialing Chiang is 1,119 km long and drains an area of 160,000 sq km. It rises on the southern slopes of the Tsinling Shan and crosses the Szechwan Basin. The river’s main tributaries are the Pailung Chiang and Fou Chiang, which are right tributaries, and the Ch’u Chiang, which is a left tributary. High water occurs in summer. The mean flow rate is approximately 2,100 cu m per sec and reaches a maximum of more than 33,000 cu m per sec. During freshets, the river rises by 10–20 m. The Chialing Chiang, which is used for irrigation, carries a considerable suspended load. Along the river are situated the cities of Kuangyuan, Nanch’ung (at which point the river becomes navigable), Hoch’uan, and Peip’ei. The city of Chungking is situated at the river’s mouth.