The Tarim River, known in Sanskrit as the Śītā is an endorheic river in Xinjiang, China. It is the principal river of the Tarim Basin, a desert region of Central Asia between the Tian Shan and Kunlun Mountains; the river terminated at Lop Nur, but today reaches no further than Taitema Lake before drying out. It is the longest inland river in China, with an annual flow of 4 to 6 billion cubic metres or 158.5 cubic metres per second. Its basin is home to nearly 10 million other ethnic minorities; the word tarim is used to designate the bank of a river that flows into a lake or, not able to be differentiated from the sands of a desert. This is a characteristic hydrographic feature of many rivers that traverse the sands of the Taklamakan Desert. Another characteristic of the rivers of the Tarim Basin, including the Tarim River itself, is their active migration, that is, the shifting of their beds and banks; the total length of the Yarkand-Tarim river system is 2,030 kilometres, although, as the Tarim changes its channel, the length tends to vary over the years.

It is shallow, unsuitable for navigation, because of its heavy silt load, forms a braided stream near its terminus. The area of the Tarim River Basin is about 557,000 square kilometres. A considerable part of the Tarim's course is unformed, following no defined riverbed; the water volume of the lower course of the river diminishes as a result of extensive evaporation and water-diversion schemes. The Tarim's low-water period is from October through April; the spring and summer high waters begin in May and continue through September as the snows melt on the distant Tian Shan and Kunlun mountains. The Lower Tarim Basin is an arid plain composed of alluvium and lake sediments and is bordered by massive mountain ranges; the basin is the driest region of Eurasia. The predominant part of it is occupied by the Taklamakan Desert, whose sand area exceeds 270,000 square kilometres. In addition, there are several comparatively small sand massifs with areas of from 780 to 4,400 square kilometres. Sand dunes are the predominant relief.

Precipitation in the Tarim Basin is scant, in some years it is nonexistent. In the Taklamakan Desert and in the Lop Nur basin, the average annual total of precipitation is about 12 millimetres. In the foothills and in several other areas of the river's basin, the precipitation amounts to from 50 to 100 millimetres a year. In the Tian Shan it is much wetter, precipitation exceeding 510 millimetres. Maximum temperatures in the Tarim Basin are about 40 °C; the Tarim River freezes over every year from December through March. The Tarim River and most of its tributaries originate in the Kunlun Mountains; the name Tarim is applied to the river formed by the union of the Aksu River, flowing from the north, Yarkand River, coming from the southwest, near the Aral City in western Xinjiang. A third river, the Khotan River, comes to the same junction area from the south but it is dry at this location, having crossed the Taklamakan Desert to get here. Another river of western Xinjiang is the Kashgar River, which flows into the Yarkand River during the rainy season about 37 kilometres upstream from the Yarkand's confluence with the Aksu.

By another definition, the Tarim starts at the Kashgar/Yarkand merger, Aksu is considered just a tributary of the Tarim. The Tarim flows in an eastward direction around the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, it receives the Muzat River from the north. Prior to the completion of reservoirs and irrigation works in the mid-20th century, the Tarim's waters reached Lop Nur; the river's waters now drain intermittently into Taitema Lake, located about 160 kilometres southwest of Lop Nur. Vegetation in the Tarim Basin is located along the river and its branches. There, at the edge of the sands, shrubs like vegetation and stunted trees wormwood, are found. Tugay poplar forest grows in the Tarim River valley. Underbrush consists of willows, sea buckthorn, dense growths of Indian hemp and Ural licorice; the Tarim River is rich in fish, animal life on the river and the surrounding desert is varied. At the time of Sven Hedin's visit in 1899, tigers were still being hunted and trapped along the rivers of the region and near Lop Nur.

The valley and lakes of the Tarim are a stopover for many migratory birds. Despite the Chinese government's promotion of large-scale irrigation, oasis agriculture remains the mainstay of the scattered settlements in the region. Grains, silk and wool are the chief agricultural products, with Khotan jade being another important item. Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang are relocating hundreds of ethnic minority farming families along the dwindling Tarim River. By 2008, more than 6,000 households along the river will have been resettled and cultivation forbidden along the river banks, in an attempt to save 60 million cubic meters of water; some Chinese considered the Tarim to be the upper course of the Yellow River but, by the time of the Former Han Dynasty, it was known that it drains into Lop Nur, a series of salt lakes. Its total length is 2,030 kilometres. Geography of China List of rivers of China Ruo Shui Shule Riv

Elpida Karayiannopoulou, is a Greek singer, one of the most successful singers in Greece and the Greek diaspora in the 1970s and 1980s. Known professionally as just Elpida, she released 17 original albums in her 25-year recording history, topped fever charts run by the Greek state broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi. Internationally, she was known for being a two-time entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest, representing Greece in 1979 with the song "Sokrati" which placed 8th and Cyprus in 1986 with "Tora Zo" which came 20th. Elpida Karayiannopoulou was born in Greece. Upon finishing school, she wished to be an architect, but instead began to study topography while working at the same time. Elpida began her singing career in 1970 when she became the singer of an orchestra and subsequently recorded an album with them. In 1972, she participated in Thessaloniki Music Festival with the song "Den Ton Eida" and was introduced to the public; the same year she recorded her first solo album, presented live with fellow singers George Dalaras, Giannis Parios, Tolis Voskopoulos, Giorgos Marinos, Giannis Poulopoulos, Haris Alexiou, Grigoris Bithikotsis.

In 1973, ERT deemed Elpida the most popular singer in the country at that time. Elpida went on to take part in 13 festivals similar to those of Thessaloniki including Tokyo in 1974 where she placed second and the winner of Viña del Mar Festival in Chile in 1975 with the song "Pos Pes Mou Pos", she received various awards such as the "Reward of Interpretation" in Poland, a reward for television in Bulgaria. She made a lot of television appearances in Latin America, Germany, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian Countries and made several television appearances in Israel. In 1979, Elpida was chosen to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest to represent Greece, she sang the song "Sokrati" and placed eighth, receiving 69 points from the 19 participating countries. She released an album which reached gold sales in Israel and reached #6 in the local charts in Portugal. Seven years she appeared at Eurovision once more, in 1986, but representing Cyprus, she sang "Tora Zo", but with less success than in 1979, only garnering four points, placing 20th.1988 saw the release of the album Flas from which the song "Opos Se Thelo S'oneirevomai" became a radio hit.

In 1994, her sixteenth studio album was released titled Mes Ti Nihta Hathika, with music by Thanasis Kargidis and Panos Falaras. Elpida married in 1979 and gave birth to her first child, a girl named Hera, in 1980, her second child, was born in 1985 and led to her absence from the music industry for four years as she spent time with her family. 1972: Den Ton Eida 1973: Elpida 1975: Koita To Fos 1975: Epi Skinis 1976: Elpida 1978: Borei 1979: Sokrati 1979: Elpida 1979: Ta Oraiotera Tragoudia Mou 1981: Me Tin Elpida 1983: Me Logia Apla 1987: Flas 1988: 16 Apo Ta Oraiotera Tragoudia 1989: Ela na Paizoume 1990: Tragoudontas Tis Epohes, 10 1990: Selida 16 1992: To Palio Na Legetai 1994: Mes Sti Nihta Hathika 1994: "Zileia"/"Kameno Harti" 1995: To Lathos Kai To Pathos 1997: Me Tragoudia Kai Logia ta Oraiotera Mou, 1972-87