Kaidu River

42°2′45″N 86°35′36″E / 42.04583°N 86.59333°E / 42.04583; 86.59333

Kaidu River
Kaidu River in the city center of Yanqi
Location
Country	China
Physical characteristics
Source
• elevation	Tian Shan
Length	610 km (380 mi)
Basin size	22,000 km2 (8,500 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s)

The Kaidu River (Chinese: 开都河; pinyin: Kāidū Hé; Mongolian: Хайду гол; Uyghur: قايدۇ دەرياسى), also known under its ancient name Chaidu-gol, is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China and an important source of water for the region. The Kaidu River is responsible for many substantial effects on the environment. Affecting the land and its people in many different ways.^[1]

The sources of the Kaidu River are located on the central southern slopes of the Tian Shan from where it flows through the Yulduz Basin^[2] and the Yanqi Basin into Lake Bosten for which it is the most important tributary.^[3] The river leaves the lake under the name Kongque River (Chinese: 孔雀河; pinyin: Kǒngquè Hé), which literally means "Peacock River", but is derived from the Uyghur name "كۆنچى دەرياسى / Konchi Darya" which means "Tanner's River".^[4] The Kongque River flows through the Iron Gate Pass (simplified Chinese: 铁门关; traditional Chinese: 鐵門關; pinyin: Tiěmén Guān) into the Tarim Basin.