Min River - Minjiang

The largest river in Fujian Province, China. It is made up of the Jianxi, Futunxi, and Shaxi rivers, which originate in the Wuyi Mountains on the northwestern border, and in the middle reaches it joins the Gutianxi and Youxi rivers before flowing into the East China Sea. It is 2,280 km long. It is the largest river in Fujian Province, and Min is also the abbreviation for the province. In the strict sense, the Min River refers to the downstream part of the river, from where it joins the Jianxi at Nanping. It has been used as the main transportation route within the province since ancient times, and steamships can travel to Nanping. In addition, a road has been opened since ancient times that crosses the Wuyi Mountains through the valleys upstream, and there are passes such as Fengling Pass and Bunshui Pass along the Jianxi, and Tieniu Pass along the Futunxi. After liberation, the Yingxia Railway crossed the Tienyu Pass and connected to Xiamen, and the Laifu Railway was also laid, branching off at Laizhou and connecting to Fuzhou. The river has an abundant amount of water, and dams such as the Gutian Reservoir have been built. In Chong'an County, upstream of the Jianxi River, people go rafting on the river as part of tourism in the Wuyishan Scenic Area.

[Aoki Chieko and Kono Michihiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、福建省を流れる同省最大の河川。北西境の武夷(ぶい)山脈を源とする建渓(けんけい)、富屯(ふとん)渓、沙(さ)渓をあわせ、中流では古田渓、尤(ゆう)渓などと合流して東シナ海に注ぐ。全長2280キロメートル。福建省最大の河川で、閩は同省の略称にもなっている。狭義の閩江は南平(なんへい／ナンピン)で建渓と合流してより下流をさす。古くから省内の中心的な交通路として利用され、南平までは汽船が航行できる。また、上流の谷を伝って武夷山脈を越える道が古くから開かれ、建渓を伝う楓嶺関(ふうれいかん)、分水関、富屯渓を伝う鉄牛(てつぎゅう)関などの峠がある。解放後、鉄牛関を越えて鷹厦(ようか)鉄道が厦門(アモイ)に通じ、さらに来舟で分岐して福州へ通じる来福鉄道も敷設された。水量が豊富で、古田水庫などのダムが建設されている。なお、建渓上流の崇安(すうあん／チョンアン)県内では、武夷山風景区の観光の一環として川下りが行われている。

［青木千枝子・河野通博］

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