river in Hunan province, southeastern China. With a total length of 500 miles (800 km), the Xiang is one of the principal tributaries of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). The Xiang rises in the mountains in the northern part of the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi and flows northeast into Hunan province. At Lingling it is joined by the Xiao River, which drains the Hunan-Guangxi border mountains, and it then flows east, to be joined by the Lei River, flowing from the border of Guangdong province, at Hengyang. The river then turns north, passing Changsha, and flows into Dongting Lake and thence into the Yangtze. It is joined by the Lu River at Zhuzhou and by the Lian River, its chief western tributary, below Xiangtan.
The Xiang, an important waterway, was the chief artery of communications for the province until the completion of the railway in the 1930s. Large vessels from the Yangtze can reach as far as Changsha via the Xiang. Small steamboats can reach Xiangtan, and junks can reach Hengyang. At high water, junks can reach Lingling. This waterway provided one of the chief routes between central China and Guangdong and Guangxi throughout historical times; it is still usable, though it is now largely superseded by the railway.
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