{"id":15132,"date":"2024-02-09T16:15:11","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T15:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=15132"},"modified":"2024-02-09T16:15:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T15:15:11","slug":"where-was-the-yangtze-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/where-was-the-yangtze-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Was The Yangtze River"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Yangtze River is the longest and most important river in China, and its course stretches for more than 6,300 kilometers. Flowing from the glaciers of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau through nine provinces and two major municipalities, the Yangtze is home to more than 440 million people. It is this abundance of people and geography that has, for millennia, made the Yangtze river an irreplaceable part of history, culture, and even day-to-day life in China. Historical records trace the Yangtze’s place in ancient texts as far back as 2698 BC. This shows just how ancient this waterway really is and gives insight into the most important question of all: Where is the Yangtze?<\/p>\n

The Yangtze is generally divided into three sections: the upper, middle and lower reaches. The source of the Yangtze river starts in Qinghai Province at an elevation of 4,500 meters. Known as Tongtianhe, it is the longest tributary of the Yangtze and is home to extensive glaciers that are the primary source of water for the entire river. From here the river flows east for about 3,900 kilometers, winding through the provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui before it reaches its mouth in Shanghai. This junction between the Yangtze and the East China Sea is the end of the Yangtze’s meandering journey; the estuary of the river houses several major ports including Shanghai and Wenzhou.<\/p>\n

The Yangtze is a lifeline for China, due to just how much of the country it runs through. The Yangtze is a major transportation artery for goods, people, and river cruise ships; it also provides over a quarter of the nation’s hydropower. While the Yangtze is seen as a way of life for many, it is also a source of pollution, due to the factories that line its banks and the sewage seeping into it from hundreds of cities. As a result, it has become one of the most heavily polluted areas in China, causing much devastation to the local ecology. Since the mid-2000s, the Chinese government has been making major strides to clean up the pollution, including some huge advances in non-point source pollution.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Yangtze has become a major tourist attraction, as it offers some of the most scenic riverside views that China has to offer. Some of these hotspots include the Three Gorges Dam, the Three Gorges, and the Pudong District in Shanghai. It is no surprise that the Yangtze’s beauty and historical significance have made it one of the most popular destinations in the world. The area is home to a myriad of ancient hieroglyphs, cultures, and archaeological artifacts, making it a must-see for any traveler to China.<\/p>\n

Geography of the Yangtze<\/h2>\n