The Hwang Ho River is also known as the Yellow River. It is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of 5,464 km. The river is often called the cradle of Chinese civilization and is the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization. The name Yellow River edges out Murky River by the end of Tang dynasty, for unclear reasons. In the Shaanxi loess plateau, it is referred to as "River, my lord/master" in Jin Chinese language (老爺河, .