The Yalu River, also called the Amnok River (Korean pronunciation: [amnog.k͈aŋ]), is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between North Korea and China and is notable as a site involved in military conflicts in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and the Korean War.
There are two versions regarding the origin of the river name. One version is that the name derived from "Yalv ula" in the Manchu language. The Manchu word "Yalu" means "the boundary between two countries". In Mandarin Chinese, "Yalu" phonetically approximates the original Manchu word "Yalu", but literally means "Duck Green", which was said to have been once the color of the river. The other version is that the river was named after the combination of its two upper branches, which was called "Ya" and "Lu" respectively.
From 2500 m above sea level on Paektu Mountain on the China–North Korea border, the river flows south to Hyesan before sweeping 130 km northwest to Linjiang and then returning to a more southerly route for a further 300 km to empty into the Korea Bay between Dandong (China) and Sinuiju (North Korea). The bordering Chinese provinces are Jilin and Liaoning.
The Yalu River (Chinese: 雅鲁河; pinyin: Yǎlǔ Hé) is a river straddling the Chinese regions of Heilongjiang and Hulunbei'er near the eastern border with Russia. As a right tributary of the Nen River, the Yalu starts on the eastern slopes of the Greater Khingan Range, and flows in the general south-eastern direction through Zhalantun in Hulunbei'er and Qiqiha'er in Heilongjiang. The Yalu flows from the west into the Nen River some 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Qiqiha'er.
As the Nen then flows to the south and into the Songhua River, and the Songhua, to the east and northeast and into the Amur, the Yalu River is part of the Amur River basin. It should not be confused with another, much larger and better known Yalu River (Chinese: 鸭绿江, Yālù Jiāng), which flows along the China–North Korea border and into the Yellow Sea.
Coordinates: 39°56′N 124°19′E / 39.933°N 124.317°E / 39.933; 124.317
So long, boy you can take my place
I've got my papers, I've got my pay
So pack my bags and I'll be on my way
To Yellow River
Put my gun down, the war is won
Fill my glass high, the time has come
I'm going back to the place that I love
Yellow River
Yellow River
Yellow River is in my mind and in my eyes
Yellow River
Yellow River is in my blood, it's the place I love
Got no time for explanations
Got no time to lose
Tomorrow night you'll find me sleeping underneath the moon
At Yellow River
Cannon fire lingers in my mind
I'm so glad that I'm still alive
And I've been gone for such a long time
From Yellow River
I remember the nights were cool
I can still see the water pool
And I remember the girl that I knew