Xar Moron River Explained

The Xar Moron river (Mongolian: Shar mörön Шар мөрөн, "Yellow River";^[1]) is a river in Inner Mongolia, in northeast China. It flows through the grasslands of that region, forming a valley that is hospitable to both farming and herding. The valley was once home to the Khitan people.

The Xar Moron is the source of the Xiliao River (西辽河), which in turn is one of the headwaters of the Liao River.

The musical instrument Xiqin (奚琴), the ancestor of China's huqin family of bowed string instruments, is believed to have originated here with the Khitans, who were formerly called Xi (奚) by the Chinese.

43.4328°N 120.7776°W

Notes and References

1. the X is used roughly like in Hanyu Pinyin here, i.e. to present an "sh"-like sound. The cyrillic spelling, as used in Outer Mongolia, would be Шар Мөрөн. Outer Mongolians, however, nowadays usually use the name "Shar Mörön" to refer to the larger Yellow River.