More than four millennia ago, the Chinese emperor Yu the Great said: ‘Conquering the Yellow River equates to controlling the whole of China.’ Today, as the country develops at breakneck speed, the river remains as important as ever – millions of people depend on it as a source of water and it helps generate electricity via numerous dams along its path. Known locally as Huang He, the mighty river flows 5,464 kilometres from west to east through nine provinces, from its headwaters in the Kunlun Mountains to its mouth at the Bohai Sea. It has been labelled ‘China’s Pride’, but recurrent and destructive flooding has taken countless lives over the centuries, earning it another name: ‘China’s Sorrow’. And now, over-exploitation by industry means that it’s heavily polluted and its level is often critically low. Photographer Aldo Pavan travelled along the world’s seventh-longest river to document the varied cultures and environments through which it flows.





December 2007