Yangtze River

The Yangtze River, the cradle of Chinese civilization, originates in a glacier in the Danggula Mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in western China, the roof of the world, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters (about 17,717 feet). The altitude of the glacier (6,543 meters [about 21,467 feet]) whose runoff nurtures this great river, makes the Yangtze River the highest river in the world.

The river races down the valleys and across central China, finally discharging into the Pacific Ocean near Shanghai. With a total length of 6,300 kilometers (about 3,915 miles), it is the longest river in China and the third longest one in the world, after the Nile and the Amazon. Since ancient times, it has been a major east-west trade and transportation route in China.

The Yangtze flows southeast through plateaus, valleys, mountains, fertile basins, hills and vast plains. The most spectacular part of its journey is through the Three Gorges, which stretch from Fengjie County in Chongqing to Yichang City in Hubei Province, where the mighty river surges through forested hills. The uncanny workmanship of nature through centuries has created a spectacular landscape gallery which extends 193 kilometers (about 120 miles).

With the demolition of cofferdam III on June 6, 2006, the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest concrete structure, which is located west of Yichang, was put into service holding back the waters of the river. As the water level rises and the river widens, some historic sites will be inundated forever, but the rising water is not expected to detract from the magnificence of the gorges, which will continue to attract visitors.