The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest
river in Asia, the
third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the
Tanggula Mountains
The Tanggula ( Chinese: , p ''Tánggǔlāshān'', or , p ''Tánggǔlāshānmài''), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains (Tibetan: , w ''Gdang La'', z ''Dang La'') are a mountain range in the central part of the ...
(Tibetan Plateau) and flows in a generally easterly direction to the
East China Sea. It is the
seventh-largest river by discharge volume in the world. Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
comprises one-fifth of the land area of China, and is home to nearly one-third of the
country's population.
The Yangtze has played a major role in the
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
,
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
, and
economy of China. For thousands of years, the river has been used for water, irrigation, sanitation, transportation, industry, boundary-marking, and war. The prosperous
Yangtze Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...
generates as much as 20% of
China's GDP. The
Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...
on the Yangtze is the
largest hydro-electric power station in the world that is in use. In mid-2014, the Chinese government announced it was building a multi-tier
transport network
A transport network, or transportation network, is a network or graph in geographic space, describing an infrastructure that permits and constrains movement or flow.
Examples include but are not limited to road networks, railways, air routes ...
, comprising railways, roads and airports, to create a new economic belt alongside the river.
The Yangtze flows through a wide array of ecosystems and is habitat to several
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
and threatened species including the
Chinese alligator, the
narrow-ridged finless porpoise, and also was the home of the now extinct
Yangtze river dolphin
The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' meaning "left behind" and ''vexillifer'' "flag bearer") is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to be the first dolph ...
(or ''baiji'') and
Chinese paddlefish
The Chinese paddlefish (''Psephurus gladius''; : literal translation: "white sturgeon"), also known as the Chinese swordfish, is an extinct species of fish that was formerly native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China. With records of ...
, as well as the
Yangtze sturgeon
Dabry's sturgeon (''Acipenser dabryanus''), also known as the Yangtze sturgeon, Chiangjiang sturgeon and river sturgeon, is a species of fish in the sturgeon family, Acipenseridae.Zhuang, P., et al. (1997)Biology and life history of Dabry's st ...
, which is
extinct in the wild. In recent years, the river has suffered from industrial pollution, plastic pollution,
agricultural runoff
Agricultural pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The pol ...
,
siltation
Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the ...
, and loss of wetland and lakes, which exacerbates seasonal flooding. Some sections of the river are now protected as
nature reserves
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
. A stretch of the upstream Yangtze flowing through deep gorges in western
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
is part of the
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas () is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the drainage basins of the upper reaches of the Jinsha (Yangtze), Lancang (Mekong) and Nujiang ( Salween) rivers, in ...
, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
Etymology
Chinese
() is the official name for the Yangtze in
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
. However, the Chinese have given different names to the upstream sections of the river up to its confluence with the
Min River at
Yibin
Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...
, Sichuan.
[ Yule, Henry. ''The River of Golden Sand: The Narrative of a Journey Through China and Eastern Tibet to Burmah'', Vol. 1]
p. 35
. "Introductory Essay." 1880. Reprint: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2013. Jinsha River
The Jinsha River (, Tibetan: Dri Chu, འབྲི་ཆུ) is the Chinese name for the upper stretches of the Yangtze River. It flows through the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan in western China. The river passes through Tiger L ...
("Gold Sands River") refers to the 2,308 km (1,434 mi) of the Yangtze from Yibin upstream to the confluence with the Batang River near Yushu in Qinghai, while the
Tongtian River The Zhi Qu (Tibetan) or Tongtian River () is a long river in Qinghai Province, northwest China. It begins at the confluence of Tuotuo River and Dangqu River, before flowing southeast and meeting the Jinsha River near the border of Qinghai and Sichu ...
("River that leads to Heaven") describes the 813 km (505 mi) section from Yushu up to the confluence of the
Tuotuo River and the
Dangqu River.
''Chang Jiang'' literally means the "Long River." In
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...
, the Yangtze was simply called ''Jiang/Kiang'' ,
[Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' '', p. 56. 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2013.] a
character of
phono-semantic compound
All Chinese characters are logograms, but several different types can be identified, based on the manner in which they are formed or derived. There are a handful which derive from pictographs () and a number which are ideographic () in origin, inc ...
origin, combining the water
radical with the homophone (now pronounced , but ''*kˤoŋ'' in Old Chinese). ''Krong'' was probably a word in the
Austroasiatic
The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...
language of local peoples such as the
Yue. Similar to ''*krong'' in
Proto-Vietnamese
Vietnamese ( vi, tiếng Việt, links=no) is an Austroasiatic language originating from Vietnam where it is the national and official language. Vietnamese is spoken natively by over 70 million people, several times as many as the rest of the ...
and ''krung'' in
Mon, all meaning "river", it is related to
modern Vietnamese ''sông'' (river) and
Khmer ''krung'' (city on riverside), whence
Thai ''krung'' (กรุง capital city), not ''kôngkea'' (water) which is from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
root ''gáṅgā''.
By the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
, had come to mean ''any'' river in Chinese, and this river was distinguished as the "Great River" (). The epithet (
simplified version ), means "long", was first formally applied to the river during the
Six Dynasties
Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms ...
period.
Various sections of the Yangtze have local names. From Yibin to
Yichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
, the river through
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
and
Chongqing Municipality
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Coun ...
is also known as the () or "
Sichuan River."
In
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
, the river is also called the () or the "Jing River" after
Jingzhou
Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...
, one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. In
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
, the river takes on the local name after the shorthand name for Anhui, (皖). And () or the "Yangzi River", from which the English name Yangtze is derived, is the local name for the Lower Yangtze in the region of
Yangzhou
Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north ...
. The name likely comes from an ancient ferry crossing called or (). Europeans who arrived in the
Yangtze River Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...
region applied this
local name to the whole river.
The dividing site between upstream and
midstream
The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. The midstream sector involves the transportation (by pipeline, rail, barge, oil tanker or truck), storage, and wholesale marketing of crud ...
is considered to be at Yichang and that between midstream and downstream at
Hukou
''Hukou'' () is a system of household registration used in mainland China. The system itself is more properly called "''huji''" (), and has origins in ancient China; ''hukou'' is the registration of an individual in the system (''kou'' li ...
(
Jiujiang
Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...
).
English
![Portrait map of China](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Portrait_map_of_China.jpg)
The river was called Quian () and Quianshui () by
Marco Polo and appeared on the earliest English maps as Kian or Kiam,
[E.g., Moll, Herman.]
The Empire of China and island of Japan, agreeable to modern history.
" Bowles & Bowles (London), 1736. Retrieved August 13, 2013. which derives from Cantonese, all recording
dialects
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
which preserved forms of the
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
pronunciation of as ''Kæwng''.
[ By the mid-19th century, these romanizations had standardized as Kiang; ''Dajiang'', e.g., was rendered as "Ta-Kiang." "Keeang-Koo,"][Bell, James. ''A System of Geography, Popular and Scientific; or a Physical, Political, and Statistical Account of the World and its Various Divisions'', Vol. V, Part I]
p. 215
. "Chinese Tartary." A. Fullarton & Co. (London), 1849. Retrieved August 13, 2013. "Kyang Kew,"[Tanner, B.]
China divided into its Great Provinces According to the best Authorities
." Mathew Carey (Philadelphia), 1795. Retrieved August 13, 2013. "Kian-ku,"[Bridgman, Elijah (ed.) '']The Chinese Repository
''The Chinese Repository'' was a periodical published in Canton between May 1832 and 1851 to inform Protestant missionaries working in Asia about the history and culture of China, of current events, and documents. The world's first major journal of ...
'', Vol. I
pp. 37 ff
. "Review. ''Ta Tsing Wan-neën Yih-tung King-wei Yu-too'',–'A General Geographical Map, with Degrees of Latitude and Longitude, of the Empire of the Ta Tsing Dynasty–May It Last Forever', by Le Mingche Tsinglae." Canton Mission Press (Guangdong), 1833. and related names derived from mistaking the Chinese term for the mouth of the Yangtze (, p ''Jiāngkǒu'') as the name of the river itself.
The name Blue River began to be applied in the 18th century,[ apparently owing to a former name of the Dam Chu or Min and to analogy with the ]Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
, but it was frequently explained in early English references as a 'translation' of ''Jiang'', ''Jiangkou'',[ or ''Yangzijiang''. Very common in 18th- and 19th-century sources, the name fell out of favor due to growing awareness of its lack of ''any'' connection to the river's Chinese names][Davis, John. ''The Chinese: A General Description of the Empire of China and Its Inhabitants'', Vol. 1]
pp. 132 ff
. C. Knight, 1836.[''The St. James's Magazine'', Vol. XIV]
p. 230
. "A Cruise on the Yangtze Kyang." W. Kent & Co. (London), 1865. and to the irony of its application to such a muddy waterway.[
Matteo Ricci's 1615 Latin account included descriptions of the "Ianſu" and "Ianſuchian."]Ricci, Matteo
Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He created the , a 1602 map of the world written in Chinese characters. ...
& al. ''De Christiana Expeditione Apud Sinas Suscepta ab Societate Jesu'', Libri V, 1615. New Edition: ''De Christiana Expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Iesu'', Libri V
pp. 365 ff.
, Bernardus Gualterus (Cologne), 1617. Retrieved August 14, 2013. The posthumous account's translation of the name as Fils de la Mer ("Son of the Ocean")[ shows that Ricci, who by the end of his life was fluent in literary Chinese, was introduced to it as the homophonic rather than the 'proper' . Further, although ]railroads
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
and the Shanghai concessions subsequently turned it into a backwater, Yangzhou was the lower river's principal port for much of the Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
, directing Liangjiang's important salt monopoly and connecting the Yangtze with the Grand Canal to Beijing. (That connection also made it one of the ''Yellow'' River's principal ports between the floods of 1344
Year 1344 ( MCCCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* March 26 – ''Reconquista'': The Siege of Algeciras (1342–44), one of the first ...
and the 1850s, during which time the Yellow River ran well south of Shandong and discharged into the ocean a mere few hundred kilometers from the mouth of the Yangtze.[)
By 1800, English cartographers such as ]Aaron Arrowsmith
Aaron Arrowsmith (1750–1823) was an English cartographer, engraver and publisher and founding member of the Arrowsmith family of geographers.
Life
He moved to Soho Square, London from Winston, County Durham, when about twenty years of age, a ...
had adopted the French style of the name as Yang-tse or Yang-tse Kiang. The British diplomat Thomas Wade emended this to Yang-tzu Chiang as part of his formerly popular romanization of Chinese, based on the Beijing dialect
The Beijing dialect (), also known as Pekingese and Beijingese, is the prestige dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. It is the phonological basis of Standard Chinese, the official language in the People's Republic of ...
instead of Nanjing's and first published in 1867. The spellings Yangtze and Yangtze Kiang was a compromise between the two methods adopted at the 1906 Imperial Postal Conference in Shanghai, which established postal romanization. Hanyu Pinyin was adopted by the PRC's First Congress in 1958, but it was not widely employed in English outside mainland China prior to the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and the PRC in 1979; since that time, the spelling Yangzi has also been used.
Tibetan
The source and upper reaches of the Yangtze are located in ethnic Tibetan
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live ...
areas of Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
. In Tibetan, the Tuotuo headwaters are the ''Machu'' (, literally "Red Water" or perhaps "Wound-ike Red
Ike or IKE may refer to:
People
* Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname
* Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname
...
Water?")). The Tongtian is the ''Drichu'' (, ‘Bri Chu’), literally "Water of the Female Yak"; transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
into ).
Geography
The river originates from several tributaries in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...
, two of which are commonly referred to as the "source." Traditionally, the Chinese government has recognized the source as the Tuotuo tributary at the base of a glacier lying on the west of Geladandong
Geladaindong Peak (also spelled Geladandong, Geladaintong or Kolha Dardong) is a snow-covered mountain (or massif) located in Southwestern Qinghai Province of China near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region. It is the tallest mountain in the T ...
Mountain in the Tanggula Mountains
The Tanggula ( Chinese: , p ''Tánggǔlāshān'', or , p ''Tánggǔlāshānmài''), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains (Tibetan: , w ''Gdang La'', z ''Dang La'') are a mountain range in the central part of the ...
. This source is found at and while not the furthest source of the Yangtze, it is the highest source at above sea level. The true source of the Yangtze, hydrologically the longest river distance from the sea, is at Jari Hill at the head of the Dam Qu tributary, approximately southeast of Geladandong. This source was only discovered in the late 20th century and lies in wetlands at and above sea level just southeast of Chadan Township in Zadoi County, Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai. As the historical spiritual source of the Yangtze, the Geladandong source is still commonly referred to as the source of the Yangtze since the discovery of the Jari Hill source.
These tributaries join and the river then runs eastward through Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
(Tsinghai), turning southward down a deep valley at the border of Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
(Szechwan) and Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
to reach Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
. In the course of this valley, the river's elevation drops from above to less than .
It enters the basin of Sichuan at Yibin
Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...
. While in the Sichuan basin, it receives several mighty tributaries, increasing its water volume significantly. It then cuts through Mount Wushan bordering Chongqing and Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
to create the famous Three Gorges
The Three Gorges () are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China. With a subtropical monsoon climate, they are known for their scenery. The "Three Gorges Scenic A ...
. Eastward of the Three Gorges, Yichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
is the first city on the Yangtze Plain.
After entering Hubei province, the Yangtze receives water from a number of lakes. The largest of these lakes is Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the la ...
, which is located on the border of Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
and Hubei provinces, and is the outlet for most of the rivers in Hunan. At Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
, it receives its biggest tributary, the Han River, bringing water from its northern basin as far as Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
.
At the northern tip of Jiangxi province, Lake Poyang
Poyang Lake (, Gan: Po-yong U), located in Jiujiang, is the largest freshwater lake in China.
The lake is fed by the Gan, Xin, and Xiu rivers, which connect to the Yangtze through a channel.
The area of Poyang Lake fluctuates dramatical ...
, the biggest freshwater lake in China, merges into the river. The river then runs through Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
and Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...
, receiving more water from innumerable smaller lakes and rivers, and finally reaches the East China Sea at Shanghai.
Four of China's five main freshwater lakes contribute their waters to the Yangtze River. Traditionally, the upstream part of the Yangtze River refers to the section from Yibin to Yichang; the middle part refers to the section from Yichang to Hukou County
Hukou County () is a county under the administration of Jiujiang City, in the north of Jiangxi Province, China, bordering Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the Ea ...
, where Lake Poyang
Poyang Lake (, Gan: Po-yong U), located in Jiujiang, is the largest freshwater lake in China.
The lake is fed by the Gan, Xin, and Xiu rivers, which connect to the Yangtze through a channel.
The area of Poyang Lake fluctuates dramatical ...
meets the river; the downstream part is from Hukou to Shanghai.
The origin of the Yangtze River has been dated by some geologists to about 45 million years ago in the Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
, but this dating has been disputed.
Image gallery
File:长江源头.jpg, The glaciers of the Tanggula Mountains
The Tanggula ( Chinese: , p ''Tánggǔlāshān'', or , p ''Tánggǔlāshānmài''), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains (Tibetan: , w ''Gdang La'', z ''Dang La'') are a mountain range in the central part of the ...
, the traditional source of the Yangtze River
File:Yangtze at First Bridge.jpg, The Tuotuo River, a headwater stream of the Yangtze River, known in Tibetan as Maqu, or the "Red River"
File:1 changjiang yangtze aerial pano first turn shigu 2018.jpg, The first turn of the Yangtze at Shigu (石鼓) in Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
, where the river turns 180 degrees from south- to north-bound
File:Hutiaoxia.jpg, Narrowest point of the Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge () is a scenic canyon on the Jinsha River, a primary tributary of the upper Yangtze River. It is located north of Lijiang City, Yunnan in southwestern China. It is part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas W ...
near Lijiang
Lijiang (), also known as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) made of Gucheng ...
downstream from Shigu
File:Jinshajiang River Ravine - 32229429768.jpg, The Jinsha, "Golden Sands River", in Yunnan
File:Qutang Gorge on Changjiang.jpg, Qutang Gorge, one of the Three Gorges
File:Wu Gorge on Yangtze.jpg, Wu Gorge, one of the Three Gorges
File:Xiling Gorge along Yangtze.jpg, Xiling Gorge, one of the Three Gorges
History
Geologic history
Although the mouth of the Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
has fluctuated widely north and south of the Shandong peninsula
The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou.
Geo ...
within the historical record, the Yangtze has remained largely static. Based on studies of sedimentation rates, however, it is unlikely that the present discharge site predates the late Miocene ( Ma). Prior to this, its headwaters drained south into the Gulf of Tonkin along or near the course of the present Red River.
Early history
The Yangtze River is important to the cultural origins of southern China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
and Japan. Human activity has been verified in the Three Gorges
The Three Gorges () are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China. With a subtropical monsoon climate, they are known for their scenery. The "Three Gorges Scenic A ...
area as far back as 27,000 years ago, and by the 5th millennium BC, the lower Yangtze was a major population center occupied by the Hemudu
The Hemudu culture (5500 BC to 3300 BC) was a Neolithic culture that flourished just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. The culture may be divided into early and late phases, before and after 4000 BC respecti ...
and Majiabang culture
The Majiabang culture, also named Ma-chia-pang culture, was a Chinese Neolithic culture that existed at the mouth of the Yangtze River, primarily around Lake Tai near Shanghai and north of Hangzhou Bay. The culture spread throughout southern Jian ...
s, both among the earliest cultivators of rice. By the 3rd millennium BC, the successor Liangzhu culture
The Liangzhu culture (; 3300–2300 BC) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery ...
showed evidence of influence from the Longshan peoples of the North China Plain. What is now thought of as Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
developed along the more fertile Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
basin; the " Yue" people of the lower Yangtze possessed very different traditions blackening their teeth, cutting their hair short, tattooing
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing p ...
their bodies, and living in small settlements among bamboo groves[Hutcheon, Robin. ''China-Yellow'', p. 4. Chinese University Press, 1996. .] and were considered barbarous by the northerners.
The Central Yangtze valley was home to sophisticated Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
cultures. Later it became the earliest part of the Yangtze valley to be integrated into the North Chinese cultural sphere. (Northern Chinese were active there since the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
).
In the lower Yangtze, two Yue tribes, the '' Gouwu'' in southern Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...
and the ''Yuyue
Yue (, Old Chinese: ''*''), also known as Yuyue (), was a state in ancient China which existed during the first millennium BC the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of China's Zhou dynasty in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Sha ...
'' in northern Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
, display increasing Zhou (i.e., North Chinese) influence starting in the 9th century BC. Traditional accounts credit these changes to northern refugees (Taibo
Taibo () (circa 1150 BCE), or Wu Taibo, was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou and the legendary founder of the State of Wu. His exact birth and death dates are unknown.
Biography
According to Sima Qian, Taibo was the founder of the State of ...
and Zhongyong in Wu and Wuyi in Yue) who assumed power over the local tribes, though these are generally assumed to be myths invented to legitimate them to other Zhou rulers. As the kingdoms of Wu and Yue, they were famed as fishers, shipwrights, and sword-smiths. Adopting Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji ...
, political institutions, and military technology, they were among the most powerful states during the later Zhou. In the middle Yangtze, the state of Jing seems to have begun in the upper Han River valley a minor Zhou polity, but it adapted to native culture as it expanded south and east into the Yangtze valley. In the process, it changed its name to Chu.
Whether native or nativizing, the Yangtze states held their own against the northern Chinese homeland: some lists credit them with three of the Spring and Autumn period's Five Hegemons
The Five Hegemons () refers to several especially powerful rulers of Chinese states of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history (770 to 476 BCE), sometimes alternatively referred to as the "Age of Hegemons". There are various lists of five ...
and one of the Warring States
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
' Four Lords. They fell in against themselves, however. Chu's growing power led its rival Jin to support Wu as a counter. Wu successfully sacked Chu's capital Ying
Ying may refer to:
People
* Yíng (嬴), a Chinese surname, the ancestral name of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China in the Qin Dynasty, and some contemporary rival royal families such as the Zhaos
* Yīng (应), a Chinese surname from the Z ...
in 506 BC, but Chu subsequently supported Yue in its attacks against Wu's southern flank. In 473 BC, King Goujian of Yue
Goujian () (reigned 496–465 BC) was the king of the Kingdom of Yue (越國, present-day northern Zhejiang) near the end of the Spring and Autumn period (春秋). He was the son of Marquis Yunchang.
Goujian's reign coincided with arguably th ...
fully annexed Wu and moved his court to its eponymous capital at modern Suzhou. In 333 BC, Chu finally united the lower Yangtze by annexing Yue, whose royal family was said to have fled south and established the Minyue
Minyue () was an ancient kingdom in what is now the Fujian province in southern China. It was a contemporary of the Han dynasty, and was later annexed by the Han empire as the dynasty expanded southward. The kingdom existed approximately from ...
kingdom in Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
. Qin Qin may refer to:
Dynasties and states
* Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China
* Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC
* Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...
was able to unite China by first subduing Ba and Shu on the upper Yangtze in modern Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, giving them a strong base to attack Chu's settlements along the river.
The state of Qin conquered the central Yangtze region, previous heartland of Chu, in 278 BC, and incorporated the region into its expanding empire. Qin then used its connections along the Yangtze River the Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Dongting Lake, Lake Dongting Drainage basin, drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River (Sichuan), Min River ...
to expand China into Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
, Jiangxi and Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, setting up military commanderies along the main lines of communication. At the collapse of the Qin Dynasty, these southern commanderies became the independent Nanyue Empire
Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establishe ...
under Zhao Tuo while Chu and Han vied with each other for control of the north.
Since the Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
, the region of the Yangtze River grew ever more important to China's economy. The establishment of irrigation systems (the most famous one is Dujiangyan, northwest of Chengdu, built during the Warring States
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
period) made agriculture very stable and productive, eventually exceeding even the Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
region. The Qin and Han empires were actively engaged in the agricultural colonization of the Yangtze lowlands, maintaining a system of dikes to protect farmland from seasonal floods. By the Song dynasty, the area along the Yangtze had become among the wealthiest and most developed parts of the country, especially in the lower reaches of the river. Early in the Qing dynasty, the region called Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
(that includes the southern part of Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...
, the northern part of Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
, and the southeastern part of Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
) provided – of the nation's revenues.
The Yangtze has long been the backbone of China's inland water transportation system, which remained particularly important for almost two thousand years, until the construction of the national railway network during the 20th century. The Grand Canal connects the lower Yangtze with the major cities of the Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
region south of the river (Wuxi
Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...
, Suzhou, Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
) and with northern China (all the way from Yangzhou
Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north ...
to Beijing). The less well known ancient Lingqu Canal, connecting the upper Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Dongting Lake, Lake Dongting Drainage basin, drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River (Sichuan), Min River ...
with the headwaters of the Guijiang, allowed a direct water connection from the Yangtze Basin to the Pearl River Delta.
Historically, the Yangtze became the political boundary between north China and south China several times (see History of China
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...
) because of the difficulty of crossing the river. This occurred notably during the Southern and Northern Dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
, and the Southern Song
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
. Many battles took place along the river, the most famous being the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD during the Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period.
The Yangtze was the site of naval battles between the Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
and Jurchen Jin during the Jin–Song wars
The Jin–Song Wars were a series of conflicts between the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and the Han-led Song dynasty (960–1279). In 1115, Jurchen tribes rebelled against their overlords, the Khitan-led Liao dynasty (916–1125), ...
. In the Battle of Caishi
The Battle of Caishi (, approximately ) was a major naval engagement of the Jin–Song Wars of China that took place on November 26–27, 1161. It ended with a decisive Song victory, aided by their use of gunpowder weapons.
Soldiers under the ...
of 1161, the ships of the Jin emperor Wanyan Liang
Digunai (24 February 1122 – 15 December 1161), also known by his sinicised name Wanyan Liang (完顏亮) and his formal title Prince of Hailing (海陵王, ''Hǎilíng Wáng''), was the fourth emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. H ...
clashed with the Song fleet on the Yangtze. Song soldiers fired bombs of lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
and sulfur using trebuchets at the Jurchen warships. The battle was a Song victory that halted the invasion by the Jin. The Battle of Tangdao
The Battle of Tangdao (唐岛之战) was a naval engagement that took place in 1161 between the Jurchen Jin and the Southern Song Dynasty of China on the East China Sea. The conflict was part of the Jin-Song wars, and was fought near Tangdao I ...
was another Yangtze naval battle in the same year.
Politically, Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
was the capital of China several times, although most of the time its territory only covered the southeastern part of China, such as the Wu kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period, the Eastern Jin Dynasty
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
, and during the Southern and Northern Dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concu ...
periods. Only the Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
occupied most parts of China from their capital at Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, though it later moved the capital to Beijing. The ROC capital was located in Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
in the periods 1911–12, 1927–37, and 1945–49.
Age of steam
The ''Jardine'', the first steamship to sail the river, was built for Jardine, Matheson & Co. in 1835. This small vessel was to carry passengers and mail between Lintin Island, Macao
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a po ...
, and Whampoa. However, the Chinese, draconian in their application of the rules relating to foreign vessels, were unhappy about a "fire-ship" steaming up the Canton River. The acting Governor-General of Kwangtung issued an edict warning that she would be fired on if she attempted the trip. On the ''Jardine's'' first trial run from Lintin Island the forts on both sides of the Bogue opened fire and she was forced to turn back. The Chinese authorities issued a further warning insisting that the ship leave Chinese waters. The ''Jardine'' in any case needed repairs and was sent to Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
.
Subsequently, Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
, the Foreign Secretary decided mainly on the "suggestions" of William Jardine to declare war on China. In mid-1840, a large fleet of warships appeared on the China coast, and with the first cannonball fired at a British ship, the ''Royal Saxon'', the British started the first of the Opium Wars. Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
warships destroyed numerous shore batteries and Chinese warships, laying waste to several coastal forts along the way. Eventually, they pushed their way up north close enough to threaten the Imperial Palace in Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
itself.
The China Navigation Company was an early shipping company founded in 1876 in London, initially to trade up the Yangtze River from their Shanghai base with passengers and cargo. Chinese coastal trade started shortly after, and in 1883 a regular service to Australia was initiated.
Navigation on the upper river
Steamers came late to the upper river, the section stretching from Yichang to Chongqing. Freshets from Himalayan snowmelt created treacherous seasonal currents. But summer was better navigationally and the three gorges
The Three Gorges () are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China. With a subtropical monsoon climate, they are known for their scenery. The "Three Gorges Scenic A ...
, described as a "150-mile passage which is like the narrow throat of an hourglass," posed hazardous threats of crosscurrents, whirlpools and eddies, creating significant challenges to steamship efforts. Furthermore, Chongqing is 700 – 800 feet above sea level, requiring powerful engines to make the upriver climb. Junk travel accomplished the upriver feat by employing 70–80 trackers, men hitched to hawsers who physically pulled ships upriver through some of the most risky and deadly sections of the three gorges. Achibald John Little took an interest in Upper Yangtze navigation when in 1876, the Chefoo Convention opened Chongqing to consular residence but stipulated that foreign trade might only commence once steamships had succeeded in ascending the river to that point. Little formed the Upper Yangtze Steam Navigation Co., Ltd. and built ''Kuling'' but his attempts to take the vessel further upriver than Yichang were thwarted by the Chinese authorities who were concerned about the potential loss of transit duties, competition to their native junk trade and physical damage to their crafts caused by steamship wakes. ''Kuling'' was sold to China Merchants Steam Navigation Company for lower river service. In 1890, the Chinese government agreed to open Chongqing to foreign trade as long as it was restricted to native crafts. In 1895, the Treaty of Shimonoseki
The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...
provided a provision which opened Chongqing fully to foreign trade. Little took up residence in Chongqing and built ''Leechuan'', to tackle the gorges in 1898. In March ''Leechuan'' completed the upriver journey to Chongqing but not without the assistance of trackers. ''Leechuan'' was not designed for cargo or passengers and if Little wanted to take his vision one step further, he required an expert pilot. In 1898, Little persuaded Captain Samuel Cornell Plant to come out to China to lend his expertise. Captain Plant had just completed navigation of Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
's Upper Karun River
The Karun ( fa, کارون, ) is the Iranian river with the highest water flow, and its only navigable river. It is long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such a ...
and took up Little's offer to assess the Upper Yangtze on ''Leechuan'' at the end of 1898. With Plant's design input, Little had SS ''Pioneer'' built with Plant in command. In June 1900, Plant was the first to successfully pilot a merchant steamer on the Upper Yangtze from Yichang to Chongqing. ''Pioneer'' was sold to Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
after its first run due to threat from the Boxer Rebellion and renamed HMS ''Kinsha''. Germany's steamship effort that same year on SS ''Suixing'' ended in catastrophe. On ''Suixing's'' maiden voyage, the vessel hit a rock and sunk, killing its captain and ending realistic hopes of regular commercial steam service on the Upper Yangtze. In 1908, local Sichuan merchants and their government partnered with Captain Plant to form Sichuan Steam Navigation Company becoming the first successful service between Yichang and Chongqing. Captain Plant designed and commanded its two ships, SS ''Shutung'' and SS ''Shuhun''. Other Chinese vessels came onto the run and by 1915, foreign ships expressed their interest too. Plant was appointed by Chinese Maritime Customs Service
The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until it split in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and in the People's Repub ...
as First Senior River Inspector in 1915. In this role, Plant installed navigational marks and established signaling systems. He also wrote ''Handbook for the Guidance of Shipmasters on the Ichang-Chungking Section of the Yangtze River'', a detailed and illustrated account of the Upper Yangtze's currents, rocks, and other hazards with navigational instruction. Plant trained hundreds of Chinese and foreign pilots and issued licenses and worked with the Chinese government to make the river safer in 1917 by removing some of the most difficult obstacles and threats with explosives. In August 1917, British Asiatic Petroleum became the first foreign merchant steamship on the Upper Yangtze. Commercial firms, Robert Dollar Company, Jardine Matheson
Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (also known as Jardines) is a Hong Kong-based Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange and ...
, Butterfield and Swire
Swire Group () is a Hong Kong- and London-based British conglomerate. Many of its core businesses can be found within the Asia Pacific region, where traditionally Swire's operations have centred on Hong Kong and mainland China. Within Asia, ...
and Standard Oil added their own steamers on the river between 1917 and 1919. Between 1918 and 1919, Sichuan warlord violence and escalating civil war put Sichuan Steam Navigational Company out of business. ''Shutung'' was commandeered by warlords and ''Shuhun'' was brought down river to Shanghai for safekeeping. In 1921, when Captain Plant died at sea while returning home to England, a Plant Memorial Fund was established to perpetuate Plant's name and contributions to Upper Yangtze navigation. The largest shipping companies in service, Butterfield & Swire, Jardine Matheson, Standard Oil, Mackenzie & Co., Asiatic Petroleum, Robert Dollar, China Merchants S.N. Co. and British-American Tobacco Co., contributed alongside international friends and Chinese pilots. In 1924, a 50-foot granite pyramidal obelisk was erected in Xintan, on the site of Captain Plant's home, in a Chinese community of pilots and junk owners. One face of the monument is inscribed in Chinese and another in English. Though recently relocated to higher ground ahead of the Three Gorges Dam, the monument still stands overlooking the Upper Yangtze River near Yichang, a rare collective tribute to a westerner in China.
Standard Oil ran the tankers Mei Ping, Mei An and Mei Hsia, which were collectively destroyed on December 12, 1937, when Japanese warplanes bombed and sank the U.S.S. Panay. One of the Standard Oil captains who survived this attack had served on the Upper River for 14 years.
Navy ships
Contemporary events
In August 2019, Welsh adventurer Ash Dykes became the first person to complete the 4,000-mile (6,437 km) trek along the course of the river, walking for 352 days from its source to its mouth.
Hydrology
Periodic floods
Tens of millions of people live in the floodplain of the Yangtze valley, an area that naturally floods every summer and is habitable only because it is protected by river dikes. The floods large enough to overflow the dikes have caused great distress to those who live and farm there. Floods of note include those of 1931, 1954, and 1998.
The 1931 Central China floods or the Central China floods of 1931 were a series of floods that occurred in the Republic of China. The floods are generally considered among the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded, and almost certainly the deadliest of the 20th century (when pandemics and famines are discounted). Estimates of the total death toll range from 145,000 to between 3.7 million and 4 million. The Yangtze again flooded in 1935, causing great loss of life.
From June to September 1954, the Yangtze River Floods were a series of catastrophic floodings that occurred mostly in Hubei Province. Due to unusually high volume of precipitation as well as an extraordinarily long rainy season in the middle stretch of the Yangtze River late in the spring of 1954, the river started to rise above its usual level in around late June. Despite efforts to open three important flood gates to alleviate the rising water by diverting it, the flood level continued to rise until it hit the historic high of 44.67 m in Jingzhou, Hubei and 29.73 m in Wuhan. The number of dead from this flood was estimated at 33,000, including those who died of plague in the aftermath of the disaster.
The 1998 Yangtze River floods
The 1998 China floods (1998年中国洪水) lasted from middle of June to the beginning of September 1998 in China at the Yangtze RiverChinanews.com.cn.Chinanews.com.cn" ''98年特大洪水.'' Retrieved on 2009-08-01. as well as the Nen River, Son ...
were a series of major floods that lasted from middle of June to the beginning of September 1998 along the Yangtze.
In the summer of 1998, China experienced massive flooding of parts of the Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
, resulting in 3,704 dead, 15 million homeless and $26 billion in economic loss. Other sources report a total loss of 4150 people, and 180 million people were affected. A staggering were evacuated, 13.3 million houses were damaged or destroyed. The floods caused $26 billion in damages.[Spignesi, Stephen J. ]004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to:
* 004, fictional British 00 Agent
* 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California)
* O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
* Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004
* Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine
* Lauda Ai ...
(2004). Catastrophe!: the 100 greatest disasters of all time. Citadel Press. . p 37.
The 2016 China floods
In mid-June 2016, severe weather such as heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and hail began across southern China, triggering deadly floods. Over the following month, additional rain events exacerbated flooding and affected more of the country. Areas ...
caused US$22 billion in damages.
In 2020, the Yangtze river saw the heaviest rainfall since 1961, with a 79% increase in June and July compared to the average for the period over the previous 41 years. A new theory suggested that abrupt reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols, caused by shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, was a key cause of the intense downpours. Over the past decades rainfall had decreased due to increase of aerosols in the atmosphere, and lower greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 caused the opposite effect – a major increase in rain. Such a dramatic reduction of aerosols caused a dramatic change in the various components of the climate system, but such sudden change of the climate system would be very different from changes in response to continuous but gradual policy-driven emissions reductions.
Degradation of the river
Beginning in the 1950s, dams and dikes were built for flood control, land reclamation, irrigation, and control of diseases vectors such as blood flukes that caused Schistosomiasis. More than a hundred lakes were thusly cut off from the main river. There were gates between the lakes that could be opened during floods. However, farmers and settlements encroached on the land next to the lakes although it was forbidden to settle there. When floods came, it proved impossible to open the gates since it would have caused substantial destruction. Thus the lakes partially or completely dried up. For example, Baidang Lake shrunk from in the 1950s to in 2005. Zhangdu Lake dwindled to one quarter of its original size. Natural fisheries output in the two lakes declined sharply. Only a few large lakes, such as Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the la ...
, remained connected to the Yangtze. Cutting off the other lakes that had served as natural buffers for floods increased the damage done by floods further downstream. Furthermore, the natural flow of migratory fish was obstructed and biodiversity across the whole basin decreased dramatically. Intensive farming of fish in ponds spread using one type of carp who thrived in eutrophic
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...
water conditions and who feeds on algae, causing widespread pollution. The pollution was exacerbated by the discharge of waste from pig farms as well as of untreated industrial and municipal sewage. In September 2012, the Yangtze river near Chongqing turned red from pollution. The erection of the Three Gorges Dam has created an impassable "iron barrier" that has led to a great reduction in the biodiversity of the river. Yangtze sturgeon use seasonal changes in the flow of the river to signal when is it time to migrate. However, these seasonal changes will be greatly reduced by dams and diversions. Other animals facing immediate threat of extinction are the baiji dolphin, narrow-ridged finless porpoise and the Yangtze alligator. These animals numbers went into freefall from the combined effects of accidental catches during fishing, river traffic, habitat loss and pollution. In 2006 the baiji dolphin became extinct; the world lost an entire genus.
In 2020, a sweeping law was passed by the Chinese government to protect the ecology of the river. The new laws include strengthening ecological protection rules for hydropower projects along the river, banning chemical plants within 1 kilometer of the river, relocating polluting industries, severely restricting sand mining as well as a complete fishing ban on all the natural waterways of the river, including all its major tributaries and lakes.
Contribution to ocean pollution
The Yangtze River produces more ocean plastic pollution than any other, according to The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit environmental engineering organization based in the Netherlands, that develops technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and intercept it in rivers before it can reach the ocean. After initial t ...
, a Dutch environmental research foundation that focuses on ocean pollution
Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there. The major ...
. Together with 9 other rivers, the Yangtze transports 90% of all the plastic that reaches the oceans.
Reconnecting lakes
In 2002 a pilot program was initiated to reconnect lakes to the Yangtze with the objective to increase biodiversity and to alleviate flooding. The first lakes to be reconnected in 2004 were Zhangdu Lake, Honghu Lake, and Tian'e-Zhou in Hubei on the middle Yangtze. In 2005 Baidang Lake in Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
was also reconnected.
Reconnecting the lakes improved water quality and fish were able to migrate from the river into the lake, replenishing their numbers and genetic stock. The trial also showed that reconnecting the lake reduced flooding. The new approach also benefitted the farmers economically. Pond farmers switched to natural fish feed, which helped them breed better-quality fish that can be sold for more, increasing their income by 30%. Based on the successful pilot project, other provincial governments emulated the experience and also reestablished connections to lakes that had previously been cut off from the river. In 2005 a Yangtze Forum has been established bringing together 13 riparian provincial governments to manage the river from source to sea. In 2006 China's Ministry of Agriculture made it a national policy to reconnect the Yangtze River with its lakes. As of 2010, provincial governments in five provinces and Shanghai set up a network of 40 effective protected areas, covering . As a result, populations of 47 threatened species increased, including the critically endangered Yangtze alligator. In the Shanghai area, reestablished wetlands now protect drinking water sources for the city. It is envisaged to extend the network throughout the entire Yangtze to eventually cover 102 areas and . The mayor of Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
announced that six huge, stagnating urban lakes including the East Lake (Wuhan)
East Lake () is a large freshwater lake within the city limits of Wuhan, China, the largest or the second largest urban lake in China. Wuhan's East Lake covers an area of 88 square kilometers (33 square kilometers of water area). It is one of t ...
would be reconnected at the cost of US$2.3 billion creating China's largest urban wetland landscape.[WWF UK Case Study 2011 / HSBC:Safeguarding the Yangtze. Celebrating 10 years of conservation success.]
Major cities along the river
* Yushu
* Panzhihua
Panzhihua (), formerly Dukou (), is a prefecture-level city located in the far south of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, at the confluence of the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers. It has an administrative area of , and a population at the 2 ...
* Yibin
Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...
* Luzhou
* Hejiang
* Chongqing
* Fuling
Fuling District () is a district in central Chongqing, China. The area is known for ''zha cai'', a hot pickled mustard tuber, as well as serving as the location of former U.S. Peace Corps teacher Peter Hessler's best-selling memoir '' River Town: ...
* Fengdu
Fengdu County (; formerly ) is a county located in Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China. The county was established as Fengdu County () during the Sui Dynasty. The name was changed to Fengdu County () during the Ming Dynasty. In 1 ...
* Wanzhou
Wanzhou District () is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest ...
* Yichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
* Yidu
Yidu () is a county-level city in western Hubei Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichang. It has a population of 395,000 residents, and covers an area of , divided into 1 subdistrict, 8 towns, and 1 t ...
* Jingzhou
Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...
* Shashi
Shashi may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions China
* Shashi City (), Hubei from 1949 to 1994
*Shashi District (), Jingzhou, Hubei (historically, Shashi City) since 1994
** Apostolic Prefecture of Shashi
** Jingmen–Shashi railway, single-trac ...
* Shishou
Shishou (; ) is a county-level city under the administration of the prefectural-level city Jingzhou, in the south of Hubei province, near its border with Hunan province, and is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The Swan Islet Wet ...
* Yueyang
Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China.
Yueyang has an administrative area of a ...
* Xianning
Xianning () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the southeast and Hunan to the southwest. It is known as the "City of Osmanthus".
Geography and climate
Xianning is located i ...
* Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
* Ezhou
Ezhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hubei Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou - Huanggang built-up (''or metro'') area was home ...
* Huangshi
Huangshi (), Postal Map Romanization, alternatively romanized as Hwangshih, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China.
Its population was 2,469,079 inhabitants at the 2020 census; 1,567,108 of whom liv ...
* Huanggang
Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It border ...
* Chaohu
Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Ch ...
* Chizhou
Chizhou () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Anhui province, China. It borders Anqing to the northwest, Tongling and Wuhu to the northeast, Xuancheng to the east, Huangshan to the southeast, and the province of Jiangxi to the southwes ...
* Jiujiang
Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...
* Anqing
* Tongling
Tongling (; former names: Tunglinghsien, Tungkwanshan) is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui province. A river port along the Yangtze River, Tongling borders Wuhu to the east, Chizhou to the southwest and Anqing to the west.
As of the 20 ...
* Wuhu
Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'ansh ...
* Chuzhou
* Ma'anshan
Ma'anshan (), also colloquially written as Maanshan, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of Anhui province in Eastern China. An industrial city stretching across the Yangtze River, Ma'anshan borders Hefei to the west, Wuhu to the sout ...
* Taizhou
* Yangzhou
Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north ...
* Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...
* Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
* Changzhou
Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...
* Nantong
Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...
* Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
Crossings
Until 1957, there were no bridges across the Yangtze River from Yibin
Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...
to Shanghai. For millennia, travelers crossed the river by ferry. On occasions, the crossing may have been dangerous, as evidenced by the '' Zhong'anlun'' disaster (October 15, 1945).
The river stood as a major geographic barrier dividing northern and southern China. In the first half of the 20th century, rail passengers from Beijing to Guangzhou and Shanghai had to disembark, respectively, at Hanyang Hanyang may refer to:
China
*Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei
:*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history
:*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...
and Pukou
Pukou District (), is one of 11 districts of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, China, lying northwest across the Yangtze River from downtown Nanjing.
The district was formerly the southern terminus of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway; railcars ...
, and cross the river by steam ferry before resuming journeys by train from Wuchang
Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...
or Nanjing West.
After the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, Soviet engineers assisted in the design and construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
The Wuhan Yangtze Great Bridge (), commonly known as Wuhan First Yangtze Bridge, is a double-deck road and rail bridge across the Yangtze River in Wuhan, in Central China. At its completion in 1957, the bridge was the easternmost crossing of ...
, a dual-use road-rail bridge, built from 1955 to 1957. It was the first bridge across the Yangtze River. The second bridge across the river that was built was a single-track railway bridge built upstream in Chongqing in 1959. The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge (), previously called the First Nanjing Yangtze Bridge, is a double-decked road-rail truss bridge across the Yangtze River in Nanjing, Jiangsu, connecting the city's Pukou and Gulou districts. Its upper deck i ...
, also a road-rail bridge, was the first bridge to cross the lower reaches of the Yangtze, in Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
. It was built after the Sino-Soviet Split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
and did not receive foreign assistance. Road-rail bridges were then built in Zhicheng
Zhicheng () is a town in Yidu County-level city, Yichang Prefecture-level city, Hubei Province, China. It is situated on the right (southern) shore of the Yangtze River, some 15 km southeast from downtown Yidu.
As of 2005, it had a populatio ...
(1971) and Chongqing (1980).
Bridge-building slowed in the 1980s before resuming in the 1990s and accelerating in the first decade of the 21st century. The Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge
The Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge is a combined road-rail bridge over the Yangtze River near the city of Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province in eastern China. It links Xunyang District of Jiujiang, south of the river, with Xiaochi Town in Huangmei County ...
was built in 1992 as part of the Beijing-Jiujiang Railway. A second bridge in Wuhan was completed in 1995. By 2005, there were a total of 56 bridges and one tunnel across the Yangtze River between Yibin and Shanghai. These include some of the longest suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
and cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...
s in the world on the Yangtze Delta: Jiangyin Suspension Bridge (1,385 m, opened in 1999), Runyang Bridge (1,490 m, opened 2005), Sutong Bridge
The Sutong Yangtze Bridge (; , ) is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Yangtze in China between Nantong and Changshu, a satellite city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province.
Design and construction
The Sutong Yangtze River Bridge was designed by Dr. ...
(1,088 m, opened 2008). The rapid pace of bridge construction has continued. The city of Wuhan now has six bridges and one tunnel across the Yangtze.
A number of power line crossings have also been built across the river.
File:Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge-1.jpg, Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
The Wuhan Yangtze Great Bridge (), commonly known as Wuhan First Yangtze Bridge, is a double-deck road and rail bridge across the Yangtze River in Wuhan, in Central China. At its completion in 1957, the bridge was the easternmost crossing of ...
, the first bridge crossing Yangtze, was completed in 1957.
File:First Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.JPG, The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge (), previously called the First Nanjing Yangtze Bridge, is a double-decked road-rail truss bridge across the Yangtze River in Nanjing, Jiangsu, connecting the city's Pukou and Gulou districts. Its upper deck i ...
, a beam bridge, was completed in 1968.
File:Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge.jpg, The Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge
The Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge is a combined road-rail bridge over the Yangtze River near the city of Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province in eastern China. It links Xunyang District of Jiujiang, south of the river, with Xiaochi Town in Huangmei County ...
, an arch bridge, was completed in 1992.
File:Yichang Yangtze Highway Bridge.JPG, The Yichang Yangtze Highway Bridge, a suspension bridge near the Gezhouba Dam lock, was completed in 1996.
File:Sutong Yangtze River Bridge.JPG, The Sutong Yangtze River Bridge
The Sutong Yangtze Bridge (; , ) is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Yangtze in China between Nantong and Changshu, a satellite city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province.
Design and construction
The Sutong Yangtze River Bridge was designed by Dr. ...
, between Nantong
Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...
and Suzhou, was one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world when it was completed in 2008.
File:Caiyuanba bridge.jpg, The Caiyuanba Bridge, an arch bridge in Chongqing, was completed in 2007.
File:Bridge on the Yangtze River in Anqing Anhui China-2.jpg, The cable-stayed Anqing Yangtze River Bridge
Anqing Yangtze River Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge spanning over the Yangtze River at Anqing, Anhui Province in eastern China.(Chinese百年梦圆 全长5985.66米安庆长江大桥建成通车2004-12-27 The bridge is wide and carries four la ...
at Anqing, was completed in 2005.
File:Route Map of Wuhan Metro Line 2.svg, Wuhan Metro Line 2 is the first underground rail line crossing the Yangtze River.
Dams
As of 2007, there are two dams built on the Yangtze river: Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...
and Gezhouba Dam
The Gezhouba Dam or Gezhouba Water Control Project () on the Yangtze River is located in the western suburbs of Yichang, in central China's Hubei province. One of the largest run-of-the-river dams, it sits several kilometers upstream from downto ...
.
The Three Gorges Dam is the largest power station in the world by installed capacity, at 22.5 GW.
Several dams are operating or are being constructed on the upper portion of the river, the Jinsha River
The Jinsha River (, Tibetan: Dri Chu, འབྲི་ཆུ) is the Chinese name for the upper stretches of the Yangtze River. It flows through the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan in western China. The river passes through Tiger L ...
.
Among them, the Xiluodu Dam is the third largest power station in the world, and the Baihetan Dam
The Baihetan Dam () is a large hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River, an upper stretch of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in southwest China. The dam is a 289-meter-tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 827 m ...
, planned to be commissioned in 2021, will be the second largest after the Three Gorges Dam.
Tributaries
The Yangtze River has over 700 tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
. The major tributaries (listed from upstream to downstream) with the locations of where they join the Yangtze are:
* Yalong River
The Yalong River ( zh, 雅砻江, p ''Yǎlóngjiāng'', w ''Ya-lung Chiang'', IPA ), or Nyag Chu (Tibetan: , z ''Nyag Qu''), is a major tributary river of the Yangtze River in Southwest China. With a length of , the Y ...
(Panzhihua
Panzhihua (), formerly Dukou (), is a prefecture-level city located in the far south of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, at the confluence of the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers. It has an administrative area of , and a population at the 2 ...
, Sichuan)
* Min River (Yibin
Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...
, Sichuan)
* Tuo River ( Luzhou, Sichuan)
* Chishui River ( Hejiang, Sichuan)
* Jialing River
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows.
The Jialing River's most notable c ...
( Chongqing)
* Wu River (Fuling
Fuling District () is a district in central Chongqing, China. The area is known for ''zha cai'', a hot pickled mustard tuber, as well as serving as the location of former U.S. Peace Corps teacher Peter Hessler's best-selling memoir '' River Town: ...
, Chongqing)
* Qing River
The Qing River () is a right (southern) tributary of the Yangtze River, Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) in Hubei province of south-central China.,
Geography
Course
The Qing River river source, Headwaters originate at Teng Long Dong, Tenglong Cave ( ...
(Yidu
Yidu () is a county-level city in western Hubei Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichang. It has a population of 395,000 residents, and covers an area of , divided into 1 subdistrict, 8 towns, and 1 t ...
, Hubei)
* Yuan River
The Yuan River, also known by its Chinese name as the Yuanjiang, is one of the four largest rivers in Hunan province in southeast-central China. It is a tributary of Yangtze River. It is long and rises in Guizhou province in the Miao Mountains ...
(via Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the la ...
)
* Lishui River
Lishui River (also known as Li River, Chinese language: 澧水, pinyin: lǐshuǐ, Wade-Giles: li3-shui3) is a river in Hunan province of China, one of the Yangtze River's four largest tributaries in the province. (Also see the Li River disambi ...
(via Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the la ...
)
* Zi River (via Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the la ...
)
* Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Dongting Lake, Lake Dongting Drainage basin, drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River (Sichuan), Min River ...
(Yueyang
Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China.
Yueyang has an administrative area of a ...
, Hunan)
* Han River (Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
, Hubei)
* Gan River
The Gan River (, Gan: Kōm-kong) runs north through the western part of Jiangxi before flowing into Lake Poyang and thus the Yangtze River. The Xiang-Gan uplands separate it from the Xiang River of neighboring eastern Hunan.
Two similarly sized ...
(near Jiujiang
Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...
, Jiangxi)
* Shuiyang River (Dangtu
Dangtu County () is one of three counties under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Ma'anshan in the southeast of Anhui Province, China.
Dangtu is one of the longest established counties in eastern China and formed part of the Taipi ...
, Anhui)
* Qingyi River (Wuhu
Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'ansh ...
, Anhui)
* Chao Lake water system (Chaohu
Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Ch ...
, Anhui)
* Lake Tai
Taihu (), also known as Lake Tai or Lake Taihu, is a lake in the Yangtze Delta and one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. The lake is in Jiangsu province and a significant part of its southern shore forms its border with Zhejiang. Wi ...
water system (Shanghai)
The Huai River
The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to ea ...
flowed into the Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...
until the 20th century, but now primarily discharges into the Yangtze.
File:Ganrivermap.png, Gan River
The Gan River (, Gan: Kōm-kong) runs north through the western part of Jiangxi before flowing into Lake Poyang and thus the Yangtze River. The Xiang-Gan uplands separate it from the Xiang River of neighboring eastern Hunan.
Two similarly sized ...
in Jiangxi
File:Hanshuirivermap.png, Han River in Hubei
File:Dongtingriversmap.png, Lake Dongting
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the lake ...
and the Yuan, Zi, Li, and Xiang Rivers in Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
File:Wujiangrivermap.png, Wu River in Guizhou
File:Jialingrivermap.png, Jialing River
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows.
The Jialing River's most notable c ...
in eastern Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
and Chongqing Municipality
File:Min sichuan rivermap.png, Min River in central Sichuan
File:Yalongrivermap.png, Yalong River
The Yalong River ( zh, 雅砻江, p ''Yǎlóngjiāng'', w ''Ya-lung Chiang'', IPA ), or Nyag Chu (Tibetan: , z ''Nyag Qu''), is a major tributary river of the Yangtze River in Southwest China. With a length of , the Y ...
in western Sichuan
Protected areas
* Sanjiangyuan ("Three Rivers' Sources") National Nature Reserve in Qinghai
* Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan
Wildlife
The Yangtze River has a high species richness
Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative ab ...
, including many endemics. A high percentage of these are seriously threatened by human activities.[Ye, S.; Li, Z.; Liu, J;, Zhang, T.; and Xie, S. (2011). ''Distribution, Endemism and Conservation Status of Fishes in the Yangtze River Basin, China.'' pp. 41–66 in: Ecosystems Biodiversity, InTech. .]
Fish
, 416 fish species are known from the Yangtze basin, including 362 that strictly are freshwater species. The remaining are also known from salt or brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...
waters, such as the river's estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
or the East China Sea. This makes it one of the most species-rich rivers in Asia and by far the most species-rich in China (in comparison, the Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
has almost 300 fish species and the Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
160).[ 178 fish species are endemic to the Yangtze River Basin.][ Many are only found in some section of the river basin and especially the upper reach (above ]Yichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
, but below the headwaters in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Tib ...
) is rich with 279 species, including 147 Yangtze endemics and 97 strict endemics (found only in this part of the basin). In contrast, the headwaters, where the average altitude is above , are only home to 14 highly specialized species, but 8 of these are endemic to the river.[ The largest orders in the Yangtze are ]Cypriniformes
Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches, and relatives. Cypriniformes is an Order within the Superorder Ostariophysi consisting of " Carp-like" Ostariophysins. This order contains 11-12 famili ...
(280 species, including 150 endemics), Siluriformes
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
(40 species, including 20 endemics), Perciformes
Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...
(50 species, including 4 endemics), Tetraodontiformes
The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived ray-finned fish, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the order Perciformes. The Tetraodontiformes are represented by 10 extant families and at least ...
(12 species, including 1 endemic) and Osmeriformes
The Osmeriformes are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the true or freshwater smelts and allies, such as the galaxiids and noodlefishes; they are also collectively called osmeriforms. They belong to the teleost superorder Protacanthopt ...
(8 species, including 1 endemic). No other order has more than four species in the river and one endemic.[
Many Yangtze fish species have declined drastically and 65 were recognized as ]threatened
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...
in the 2009 Chinese red list
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
.[Wang, S.; and Xie, Y. (2009). ''China species red list''. Vol. II Vertebrates – Part 1. High Education Press, Beijing, China.] Among these are three that are considered entirely extinct (Chinese paddlefish
The Chinese paddlefish (''Psephurus gladius''; : literal translation: "white sturgeon"), also known as the Chinese swordfish, is an extinct species of fish that was formerly native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China. With records of ...
, ''Anabarilius liui liui
''Anabarilius liui'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Anabarilius''. The nominate subspecies ''lui'' is endemic to the upper Yangtze basin in China, but there are no recent records and it is considered extinct in the 2009 Chinese re ...
'' and ''Atrilinea macrolepis
''Atrilinea macrolepis'' is a species of cyprinid
Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the larg ...
''), two that are extinct in the wild (''Anabarilius polylepis
''Anabarilius polylepis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae, that is endemic to Yunnan, China. It only occurs in Dian Lake and Songhuaba reservoir in Kunming. It was once a major commercial fish species, but it has not been ...
'', '' Schizothorax parvus''), four that are critically endangered '' Euchiloglanis kishinouyei'', '' Megalobrama elongata'', '' Schizothorax longibarbus'' and ''Leiocassis
''Leiocassis'' is a genus of bagrid catfishes found mostly in Southeast Asia with some species occurring in China.
This genus has a confused taxonomy and there is uncertainty surrounding the number of valid species. Certain East Asian bagrids fo ...
longibarbus''). Additionally, both the Yangtze sturgeon
Dabry's sturgeon (''Acipenser dabryanus''), also known as the Yangtze sturgeon, Chiangjiang sturgeon and river sturgeon, is a species of fish in the sturgeon family, Acipenseridae.Zhuang, P., et al. (1997)Biology and life history of Dabry's st ...
and Chinese sturgeon are considered critically endangered by the IUCN. The survival of these two sturgeon may rely on the continued release of captive bred specimens. Although still listed as critically endangered rather than extinct by both the Chinese red list and IUCN, recent reviews have found that the Chinese paddlefish is extinct. Surveys conducted between 2006 and 2008 by ichthyologists
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...
failed to catch any, but two probable specimens were recorded with hydroacoustic signals. The last definite record was an individual that was accidentally captured near Yibin in 2003 and released after having been radio tagged. The Chinese sturgeon is the largest fish in the river and among the largest freshwater fish in the world, reaching a length of ; the extinct Chinese paddlefish reputedly reached as much as , but its maximum size is labeled with considerable uncertainty.
The largest threats to the Yangtze native fish are overfishing and habitat loss (such as building of dams and land reclamation), but pollution, destructive fishing practices Destructive fishing practices are practices that easily result in irreversible damage to aquatic habitats and ecosystems. Many fishing techniques can be destructive if used inappropriately, but some practices are particularly likely to result in irr ...
(such as fishing with dynamite or poison) and introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
also cause problems.[ About of the total freshwater fisheries in China are in the Yangtze Basin, but a drastic decline in size of several important species has been recorded, as highlighted by data from lakes in the river basin.][ In 2015, some experts recommend a 10-year fishing moratorium to allow the remaining populations to recover,][Yiman, L.; and Zhouyang, D. (January 4, 2013). ]
Expert calls for 10-year fishing moratorium on Yangtze River.
'' ChinaDialogue. Retrieved November 12, 2015. and in January 2020 China imposed a 10-year fishing moratorium on 332 sites along the Yangtze. Dams present another serious problem, as several species in the river perform breeding migrations and most of these are non-jumpers, meaning that normal fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...
s designed for salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
are ineffective.[ For example, the ]Gezhouba Dam
The Gezhouba Dam or Gezhouba Water Control Project () on the Yangtze River is located in the western suburbs of Yichang, in central China's Hubei province. One of the largest run-of-the-river dams, it sits several kilometers upstream from downto ...
blocked the migration of the paddlerfish and two sturgeon,[ while also effectively splitting the Chinese high fin banded shark population into two and causing the ]extirpation
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
of the Yangtze population of the Japanese eel
The Japanese eel (''Anguilla japonica''; Japanese: 日本鰻 ''nihon'unagi'') is a species of anguillid eel found in Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam, as well as the northern Philippines. There are three main species under the Anguilla genus, and ...
. In an attempt of minimizing the effect of the dams, the Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...
has released water to mimic the (pre-dam) natural flooding and trigger the breeding of carp species downstream.[The Nature Conservancy: ]
China, Places We Protect: The Yangtze River.
'' Retrieved November 12, 2015. In addition to dams already built in the Yangtze basin, several large dams are planned and these may present further problems for the native fauna.[
While many fish species native to the Yangtze are seriously threatened, others have become important in ]fish farming
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
and introduced widely outside their native range. A total of 26 native fish species of the Yangtze basin are farmed.[ Among the most important are four Asian carp: ]grass carp
The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russi ...
, black carp
The black carp (''Mylopharyngodon piceus'') or Chinese black roach is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish and the sole extant species of the genus ''Mylopharyngodon''. It is native to lakes and rivers in East Asia, ranging from the Amur Basin ...
, silver carp
The silver carp (''Hypophthalmichthys molitrix'') is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to China and eastern Siberia, from the Amur River drainage in the north to the Xi Jiang River drainage in the south. Alt ...
and bighead carp
The bighead carp (''Hypophthalmichthys nobilis'') is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish native to East Asia, and is one of several Asian carps introduced into North America. It is one of the most intensively exploited fishes in fish farming, ...
. Other species that support important fisheries include northern snakehead
The northern snakehead (''Channa argus'') is a species of snakehead fish native to China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea, ranging from the Amur River to Hainan. It has been introduced to other regions, where it is considered invasive. In ...
, Chinese perch, ''Takifugu
''Takifugu'' is a genus of pufferfish, often better known by the Japanese name . There are 25 species belonging to the genus ''Takifugu'' and most of these are native to salt and brackish waters of the northwest Pacific, but a few species are ...
'' pufferfish (mainly in the lowermost sections) and predatory carp
The predatory carp (''Chanodichthys erythropterus''), also known as the redfin culter or skygazer, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Chanodichthys''. This East Asian freshwater cyprinid ranges from the Amur River south to Taiwan and ...
.[
]
Other animals
Due to commercial use of the river, tourism, and pollution, the Yangtze is home to several seriously threatened species of large animals (in addition to fish): the narrow-ridged finless porpoise, baiji (Yangtze river dolphin), Chinese alligator, Yangtze giant softshell turtle
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (''Rafetus swinhoei''), also known as the Red River giant softshell turtle, the Shanghai softshell turtle, the speckled softshell turtle, and Swinhoe's softshell turtle, is an extremely rare species of turtle i ...
and Chinese giant salamander
The Chinese giant salamander (''Andrias davidianus'') is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world.[functionally extinct
Functional extinction is the extinction of a species or other taxon such that:
#It disappears from the fossil record, or historic reports of its existence cease;
#The reduced population no longer plays a significant role in ecosystem function; or ...]
after an extensive search of the river revealed no signs of the dolphin's inhabitance. In 2007, a large, white animal was sighted and photographed in the lower Yangtze and was tentatively presumed to be a ''baiji''. However, as there have been no confirmed sightings since 2004, the ''baiji'' is presumed to be functionally extinct at this time. "Baijis were the last surviving species of a large lineage dating back seventy million years and one of only six species of freshwater dolphins." It has been argued that the extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin was a result of the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, a project that has affected many species of animals and plant life found only in the gorges area.
Numerous species of land mammals are found in the Yangtze valley, but most of these are not directly associated with the river. Three exceptions are the semi-aquatic Eurasian otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...
, water deer
The water deer (''Hydropotes inermis'') is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer than a true deer. Native to China and Korea, there are two subspecies: the Chinese water deer (''Hydropotes inermis inermis'') and the Korean water ...
and Père David's deer.
In addition to the very large and exceptionally rare Yangtze giant softshell turtle, several smaller turtle species are found in the Yangtze basin, its delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
and valleys. These include the Chinese box turtle
The Chinese box turtle (), also known as the yellow-margined box turtle, or golden-headed turtle, is a species of Asian box turtle. Taxonomically, it is called ''Cuora flavomarginata''.
Anatomy
''C. flavomarginata'' has a highly domed shell, t ...
, yellow-headed box turtle
The yellow-headed box turtle or golden-headed box turtle (''Cuora aurocapitata'') is a proposed species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae). It is sometimes considered a subspecies of Pan's box turtle (''Cuora pani auroca ...
, Pan's box turtle, Yunnan box turtle
The Yunnan box turtle (''Cuora yunnanensis'') is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae). It is believed to be endemic to Yunnan, China (in Kunming and Huize) and was suspected to be extinct since the early 20th cen ...
, yellow pond turtle, Chinese pond turtle
''Mauremys reevesii'', commonly known as the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese three-keeled pond turtle, or Reeves' turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae, a family which was formerly called Bataguridae. The species is native t ...
, Chinese stripe-necked turtle
The Chinese stripe-necked turtle (''Mauremys sinensis'') or golden thread turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.
Like many other Geoemydidae, this species hybridizes vigorously with related and not-so-closely related members ...
and Chinese softshell turtle
The Chinese softshell turtle (''Pelodiscus sinensis'') is a species of softshell turtle that is native to China (Inner Mongolia to Guangxi, including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, with records of escapees—some of which have established introduced po ...
, which all are considered threatened.
More than 160 amphibian species are known from the Yangtze basin, including the world's largest, the critically endangered Chinese giant salamander.[WWF Global: ]
Yangtze River.
'' Retrieved November 12, 2015. It has declined drastically due to hunting (it is considered a delicacy
A delicacy is usually a rare and expensive food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture. Irrespective of local preferences, such a label is typically pervasive throughout a r ...
), habitat loss and pollution.[AmphibiaWeb (2013). ]
Andrias davidianus.
'' Retrieved November 13, 2015. The polluted Dian Lake
Dianchi Lake (), also known as Lake Dian and Kunming Lake (), is a large lake located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau close to Kunming, Yunnan, China. Its nickname is the "Sparkling Pearl Embedded in a Highland" () and it was the model for the Ku ...
, which is part of the upper Yangtze watershed (via Pudu River), is home to several highly threatened fish, but was also home to the Yunnan lake newt
The Yunnan lake newt (''Cynops wolterstorffi'') is an extinct species of newt in the family Salamandridae, and was also known as Wolterstorff's newt. It was only found near the Kunming Lake in Yunnan, China. It was found in shallow lake waters a ...
. This newt has not been seen since 1979 and is considered extinct.[Stuart, S.; Hoffman, M.; Chanson, J.; Cox, N.; Berridge, R.; Ramani, P., and Young, B. (2008). ''Threatened Amphibians of the World.'' Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ] In contrast, the Chinese fire belly newt
The Chinese fire belly newt (''Cynops orientalis'') is a small () black newt, with bright-orange aposematic coloration on their ventral sides. ''C. orientalis'' is commonly seen in pet stores, where it is frequently confused with the Japanese ...
from the lower Yangtze basin is one of the few Chinese salamander species to remain common and it is considered least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
by the IUCN.[
]
The Yangtze basin contains a large number of freshwater crab species, including several endemics. A particularly rich genus in the river basin is the potamid '' Sinopotamon''. The Chinese mitten crab
The Chinese mitten crab ('; , "big sluice crab"), also known as the Shanghai hairy crab (, pinyin, p ''Shànghǎi máoxiè''), is a medium-sized burrowing crab that is named for its furry claws, which resemble mittens. It is native t ...
is catadromous (migrates between fresh and saltwater) and it has been recorded up to up the Yangtze, which is the largest river in its native range.[Veilleux, É; and de Lafontaine, Y. (2007). ''Biological Synopsis of the Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis).'' Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2812.] It is a commercially important species in its native range where it is farmed, but the Chinese mitten crab has also been spread to Europe and North America where considered invasive.[
The freshwater jellyfish '' Craspedacusta sowerbii'', now an invasive species in large parts of the world, originates from the Yangtze.]
See also
* Tributaries of the Yangtze River
* List of rivers in China
This incomplete list of rivers that flow through China is organized according to the body of water into which each river empties, beginning with the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast, moving clockwise on a map and ending with the Arctic Ocean.
Se ...
* Northern and Southern China, traditionally divided by the Huai River
The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to ea ...
but sometimes considered to separate at the Yangtze
* '' Rediscovering the Yangtze River''
* Ship lifts in China This list includes all types of constructions to lift or lower boats between two levels of a waterway, such as boat lifts, canal inclined planes, portage railways and water slopes, but excluding conventional locks.
Belgium
* Canal du Centre li ...
* South-North Water Transfer Project
* Steamboats on the Yangtze River
* Yangtze River Crossing
* Yangtze Service Medal
References
Further reading
* Carles, William Richard
"The Yangtse Chiang"
''The Geographical Journal
''The Geographical Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). It publishes papers covering research on all aspects of geography. It also publishes shorter ...
'', Vol. 12, No. 3 (Sep. 1898), pp. 225–240; Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)
* Danielson, Eric N. 2004. ''Nanjing and the Lower Yangzi, From Past to Present, The New Yangzi River Trilogy, Vol. II''. Singapore: Times Editions/Marshall Cavendish. .
* Danielson, Eric N. 2005. ''The Three Gorges and The Upper Yangzi, From Past to Present, The New Yangzi River Trilogy, Vol. III''. Singapore: Times Editions/Marshall Cavendish. .
* Grover, David H. 1992 ''American Merchant Ships on the Yangtze, 1920–1941''. Wesport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers.
* Van Slyke, Lyman P. 1988. ''Yangtze: nature, history, and the river''. A Portable Stanford Book.
* Winchester, Simon
Simon Winchester (born 28 September 1944) is a British-American author and journalist. In his career at ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Winchester covered numerous significant events, including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal. Winchester ha ...
. 1996. '' The River at the Center of the World: A Journey Up the Yangtze and Back in Chinese Time'', Holt, Henry & Company, 1996, hardcover, ; trade paperback, Owl Publishing, 1997, ; trade paperback, St. Martins, 2004, 432 pages,
* Plant, Cornell. ''Glimpses of the Yangze Gorges''; illustrations by Ivon A. Donnelly. Kelly & Walsh, Limited, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, 1926.
External links
*
Video of walking along the Yangtze River in Yichang City, Hubei Province
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