Yangtze River Basin

Yangtze River Basin – Brief Introduction

Yangtze River Basin refers to the 11 provinces (such as Qinghai Province, Tibetan, Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province and Chongqing) the mainstream and tributaries of Yangtze River flow through. Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world which covers a river basin of 0.68 million square kilometers. Yangtze River Basin is of rich resources and more than 0.3 billon people live here.

Yangtze River Basin - Geographical Location

Yangtze River originates from the southwest of Geladandong Mountain in the Dangla Mountain Range which was praised as "Spine of the World" on the eastern part of Tibetan Plateau. The mainstream of Yangtze River flows through Qinghai Province, Tibetan, Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, Chongqing, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Jiangxi Province, Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province and Shanghai. It pours into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It stretches 6300 kilometers and is about 800 kilometers longer than Yellow River.

Hundreds of tributaries of Yangtze River extend to Guizhou Province, Gansu Province, Shaanxi Province, Henan Province, Guangxi Province, Guangdong Province, Zhejing Province and Fujian Province. Yangtze River Basin covers an area of 1.8 million square kilometers which takes one fifth of China's total land area. Most water of Huai River also flows into Yangtze River through Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

The reaches upper than Yichang were called the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River. It is about 4504 kilometers long and covers a river basin of 1 million square kilometers. The reaches between Yichang and Hukou were called the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River. It is about 955 kilometers long and covers a river basin of 0.68 million square kilometers. The reaches lower than Hukou were called the Lower Reaches of Yangtze River. It is 938 kilometers long and covers a river basin of 0.12 million square kilometers.

Yangtze River Basin - Landform

Yangtze River Basin enjoys a multi-terraced terrain since Yangtze River flows through mountains, plateaus, basins and plains. Such as Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Hengduan Mountains, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Sichuan Basin, Southern Yangtze River Hills, Middle-lower Yangtze River Plain.