Zhang

“Until the recent construction of a system of roads, the Wei River was northern Henan Province's principal link with the outside world, connecting it with the Grand Canal and thence the city of Tianjin and the sea.[...]In addition, just to the northwest of the county lies the tempestuous Zhang River; usually shallow, it becomes a raging torrent during heavy monsoon rains, flooding the border area of northern Henan and southern Hebei provinces.”

“During the hot, dry month of August 1992 the farmers of Baishan village in Hebei province and Panyang village in Henan came to blows. Residents from each village hurled insults and rudimentary explosives at the other across the Zhang River – the river that feeds the Red Flag Canal Irrigation System and forms the border between the two provinces.”