Healthy Yellow River’s essence and indicators

River’s healthy life is a description of their living conditions, and it is also a comprehensive assessment of river’s functions and relations with the human society. Through analyzing the demands of human being and river ecosystem, the continuous flow, safe river channel for water and sediment transportation, good water quality, sustainable river ecosystem and water supply capacity are regarded as symbols of the healthy Yellow River. Minimum flow, maximum flood discharging capacity, bank-full discharge, transverse slope of floodplain, water quality degree, wetlands area, aquatic ecosystem, and water supply capacity, altogether eight quantitative indicators are set as symbols of healthy Yellow River, and their corresponding standards are determined based on the analysis with historical hydrological data and observed data of 1956–2004.