Yangtze

The Yangtze River, also known as the Yangzi River or Chang Jiang, is the longest river in China and the third-longest river in the world. It starts at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains and flows for over 6,000 kilometers to the East China Sea. The river is very important for China, helping many people and activities.

Throughout history, the Yangtze has been important for China's culture and economy. It has given water for crops and helped with transportation. Today, areas near the Yangtze Delta create a big part of China's GDP, and the Three Gorges Dam on the river is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world.

The Yangtze River has many special animals, such as the Chinese alligator and the narrow-ridged finless porpoise. Some animals like the Yangtze river dolphin are no longer found there. The river also has problems like pollution and flooding, but people are working to protect parts of it as nature reserves.

Etymology

Chinese

Cháng Jiāng (长江; 長江), meaning "Long River", is the name for the river in Chinese. The Chinese call different parts of the river by different names.

In Old Chinese, the Yangtze was called Jiang/Kiang 江. Sections of the Yangtze have local names. From Yibin to Yichang, the river through Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality is called the Chuān Jiāng (川江) or "Sichuan River". In Hubei, the river is called the Jīng Jiāng (荆江; 荊江) or the "Jing River" after Jingzhou. In Anhui, the river is called Wǎn Jiāng.

Yángzǐ Jiāng (揚子江; 扬子江) or the "Yangzi River", is the local name for the Lower Yangtze in Yangzhou. Europeans who arrived in the Yangtze River Delta region used this local name for the whole river.

English and other European

In the West, the river was called Quian (江) and Quianshui (江水) by Marco Polo. Early English maps showed it as Kian or Kiam. By the mid-19th century, these spellings became Kiang.

The name Blue River was used in the 18th century.

By 1800, English map makers such as Aaron Arrowsmith used the French style of the name as Yang-tse or Yang-tse Kiang. The British diplomat Thomas Wade changed this to Yang-tzu Chiang. The spellings Yangtze and Yangtze Kiang were agreed on at the 1906 Imperial Postal Conference in Shanghai. Hanyu Pinyin was adopted by the PRC's First Congress in 1958.

Tibetan

The source and upper parts of the Yangtze are in ethnic Tibetan areas of Qinghai. In Tibetan, the Tuotuo headwaters are the Machu. The Tongtian is the Drichu (འབྲི་ཆུ་ , 'Bri Chu'), meaning "Water of the Female Yak".

Geography

The Yangtze River starts in the Tibetan Plateau. Its source is usually the Tuotuo tributary near Geladandong Mountain in the Tanggula Mountains. But the true source is at Jari Hill, head of the Dam Qu tributary in Zadoi County, Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai.

The river flows east through Qinghai, then turns south between Sichuan and Yunnan. It enters Sichuan at Yibin, where it grows larger from tributaries. The river cuts through Mount Wushan to form the Three Gorges. After Yichang, it enters Hubei and receives water from lakes like Dongting Lake. At Wuhan, it meets its largest tributary, the Han River. The river then flows through Anhui and Jiangsu, finally reaching the East China Sea at Shanghai.

History

Geologic history

The Yangtze River has stayed mostly in the same place while the Yellow River has moved around a lot. Studies of dirt build-up show the Yangtze likely started flowing to where it is now around 11 million years ago. Before that, its water flowed south into the Gulf of Tonkin near the Red River.

Early history

The Yangtze River is very important to the history and culture of southern China and even Japan. People have lived near the Three Gorges for over 27,000 years! By around 5,000 years ago, people in the lower Yangtze were farming rice and living in big villages. These early people had different traditions than those up north.

Later, the Yangtze area became home to powerful ancient cultures. Over time, these cultures mixed with those from northern China. Two groups, the Gouwu in Jiangsu and the Yuyue in Zhejiang, grew stronger with help from northerners. They became known for their skills in fishing, building ships, and making swords.

Eventually, different kingdoms fought for control along the river. One kingdom, Chu, grew very powerful and took over others. Later, the Qin kingdom conquered Chu and brought the whole area under one rule. After the Qin Dynasty fell, southern areas became their own country for a time.

Since the Han Dynasty, the Yangtze River area has been super important for farming and money. By the Song Dynasty, it was one of the richest parts of China. The river also helped people travel for almost 2,000 years before trains and roads took over. An important canal connects the Yangtze to cities far away.

The Yangtze has sometimes been a border between north and south China because it was hard to cross. Many big battles happened there.

Age of steam

Main article: China Station

The first steamboat on the Yangtze was called the Jardine. It tried to sail up the river in 1835 but faced big problems. Later, companies started regular steamship services along the river.

Navigation on the upper river

Going up the very top part of the Yangtze, from Yichang to Chongqing, was super hard! Fast currents and dangerous rocks made it risky. Over time, pilots like Captain Samuel Cornell Plant helped make the route safer. By the early 1900s, more and more steamboats started using this part of the river.

Navy ships

See also: USS Asheville (PG-21), Yangtze Patrol, and Yangtze Incident

Contemporary events

Chairman Mao Zedong swam parts of the Yangtze River in 1956 and 1966. In 2002, a Danish sailor named Troels Kløvedal became the first foreigner since 1949 to sail all the way up the Yangtze. In 2025, a special car called the Jetour Zongheng G700 became the very first vehicle to cross the whole river!

Hydrology

Many people live near the Yangtze River. Every summer, the river can flood naturally. Strong river dikes were built to keep communities safe. Some very bad floods happened in 1931, 1954, and 1998, which made life very hard for people living by the river.

Since the 1950s, many dams and dikes were built along the Yangtze River. These were made to stop floods, help farming, and control diseases. But, cutting off lakes from the river hurt wildlife and made flooding worse in some places. Efforts have been made to connect some lakes again. This has helped improve water quality, let fish move freely, and reduce flooding. These changes have also helped protect animals in danger and supported local communities.

Major cities along the river

See also: Category:Populated places on the Yangtze River

The Yangtze River flows through many cities in China. Some big cities along the river are Yushu in Qinghai, Panzhihua, Yibin, and Luzhou in Sichuan, and Chongqing.

Further down the river, there are cities like Yichang and Wuhan in Hubei, Yueyang in Hunan, Nanjing and Yangzhou in Jiangsu, and finally Shanghai before the river reaches the East China Sea.

Crossings

For thousands of years, people crossed the Yangtze River by ferry. The river was a big barrier between northern and southern China. In the early 1900s, train passengers had to leave their trains and take a ferry across the river.

The first bridge across the Yangtze River was the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, finished in 1957 with help from Soviet engineers. It was a special bridge that could carry both cars and trains. More bridges were built over time, including the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, completed in 1968, and the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge, finished in 1992.

Today, there are many bridges and one tunnel across the Yangtze River. Some of these bridges are among the longest in the world, like the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge, which was completed in 2008. The city of Wuhan now has six bridges and one tunnel spanning the river. There are also several power line crossings over the Yangtze.

Dams

The Yangtze River has several important dams. The most famous is the Three Gorges Dam. It is the largest power station in the world. Another major dam is the Gezhouba Dam.

Other dams on the upper part of the river, such as on the Jinsha River, include the Baihetan Dam and the Xiluodu Dam. These dams help provide power for many people.

Tributaries

Main article: List of tributaries of the Yangtze

The Yangtze River has many tributaries. Some of the big ones are the Yalong River, Min River, Tuo River, Chishui River, Jialing River, Wu River, Qing River, Yuan River, Lishui River, Zi River, Xiang River, Han River, Gan River, Shuiyang River, Qingyi River, and rivers connected to Chao Lake and Lake Tai.

The Huai River used to flow into the Yellow Sea but now mostly flows into the Yangtze.

Protected areas

The Yangtze River has special protected areas to help keep its natural environment safe. One of these is the Sanjiangyuan ("Three Rivers' Sources") National Nature Reserve in Qinghai. Another is the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan. This place is known for its beautiful landscapes and wildlife. These areas are important for protecting the plants and animals that live near the Yangtze.

Wildlife

The Yangtze River is home to many different animals, including some kinds found only there. It has 416 types of fish, making it very rich in fish life. Some of these fish are special to the Yangtze, and a few have disappeared or are in danger because of things people do, like fishing and building dams.

Besides fish, the Yangtze River also has animals like the narrow-ridged finless porpoise, the rare Chinese alligator, and many turtles and amphibians. These animals face problems from pollution, losing their homes, and changes made by people using the river. It is important to work to protect these special animals for the future.

Tourism

The Yangtze River cruise, also called the "Three Gorges cruise", is a popular trip for visitors. People like to sail along the pretty views and old places along the river.