Huayuankou in Henan marks the starting point of the river's lower reaches. It is a vulnerable spot for floods, where the river gradient diminishes rapidly downstream causing flood water to back up and raising the high-water level here. Before the flood arrives, the river's flood plain is calm and dry, as shown in the top picture. Harvest from the flood plain depends on the magnitude of the river's runoff during the flood period. Roughly once in ten years the entire flood plain would be submerged.

今日的花园口，林网纵横如织，稻田方方如毯。
农舍错落有致，构成了一幅美丽的田园风光画。

Nowadays, miles and miles of dikes line both shores of the river along its lower reaches. Thousands of people are mobilized to combat flood each year between July and August.

黄河下游宽阔的河滩、泥滩，
使黄河摇摆不定而多变。

图片资料: 黄河水利委员会 编:《黄河风》, 黄河水利出版社, 1996.