Each answer names its source. Where sources disagree, the answer says so instead of choosing one.
How long is the Yangtze?
The Yangtze Water Resources Commission and the Ministry of Water Resources both give the length of the main stream as more than 6,300 km. Other sources use figures such as 6,380 and 6,397 km, but their agencies and survey years could not be confirmed, so the commission's figure is the one used here.
Source: Yangtze Water Resources Commission; Ministry of Water Resources
Where does the Yangtze rise and where does it end?
It rises on the southwest side of the Geladandong snow mountains, the main peak of the Tanggula range on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and flows from west to east into the East China Sea. The main stream passes through 11 provinces, regions and municipalities: Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai.
Source: Yangtze Water Resources Commission; Ministry of Water Resources
Which river is the true source?
The official view, set by expeditions in 1976 and 1978, treats the Tuotuo River as the main source, with the Dangqu as the south source and the Chumaer as the north source. In 2008 a survey team led by Liu Shaochuang measured the Dangqu at 360.34 km and the Tuotuo at 348.63 km, and argued that the Dangqu should be the main source.
Source: China News Service, 2009
How large is the Yangtze basin?
The basin covers about 1.8 million square kilometres, about 18.8 per cent of China's land area. In 2017 it held 459 million people, 33 per cent of the national population.
Source: Yangtze Water Resources Commission
How is the river divided into upper, middle and lower reaches?
The Ministry of Water Resources divides the main stream at Yichang and Hukou. The upper reach runs from the source to Yichang, 4,504 km. The middle reach runs from Yichang to Hukou in Jiangxi, 955 km, and the lower reach from Hukou to Datong, 338 km, with an estuary section of 600 km below Datong. The river is called the Jinsha above Yibin and the Yangtze from Yibin downstream.
Source: Ministry of Water Resources, 2000 sediment bulletin; Yibin government
Where does the name Yangtze come from?
Yangtze comes from Yangzi, an old name for the lower reach near Yangzhou. Early Western travellers met the river there and used the name for the whole river. In Chinese the river is Changjiang, meaning long river, and its upper course is the Jinsha.
Source: Shanghai Observer; Yangtze Evening News
What are the Three Gorges?
The Three Gorges are the Qutang, Wu and Xiling gorges, running from Baidicheng in Fengjie, Chongqing, to Nanjinguan in Yichang, Hubei, a reach of about 193 km. Published lengths for single gorges differ by source: Qutang about 7 or 8 km, Wu about 45, 46 or 47 km, and Xiling 66, 76 or 138 km.
Source: China News Service, 2024; Chongqing government; Hubei Daily; CCTV
Are the Lesser Three Gorges and Shennong Stream part of the Three Gorges?
No. The Lesser Three Gorges are the Longmen, Bawu and Dicui gorges on the Daning River in Wushan County, Chongqing. Shennong Stream is a tributary on the north bank that joins the Yangtze at Guandukou in Badong County, Hubei. Both lie on tributaries, not on the Yangtze itself.
Source: Chongqing government; Enshi government
When was the Three Gorges Project built?
The National People's Congress approved it on 3 April 1992, and construction began on 14 December 1994. The river was dammed on 8 November 1997, the gates were lowered and the initial units began generating in June 2003, and the dam reached its designed height of 185 m on 20 May 2006. The last generating unit started on 4 July 2012.
Source: CCTV; National Energy Administration; People's Daily
How big is the Three Gorges Dam?
It is a concrete gravity dam. Its designed figures are an axis length of 2,309.47 m, a crest elevation of 185 m, a maximum height of 181 m and a normal pool level of 175 m. Installed capacity was planned at 18.2 million kW with 26 units, and the finished power station reached 22.5 million kW when the last of 32 large units and 2 smaller ones started in 2012.
Source: CCTV; National Energy Administration, 2012
Why was the dam built?
In the official description the main aim is flood control: the reservoir is meant to raise the flood protection standard of the Jingjiang reach from about one in 10 years to one in 100 years. Power generation and shipping are the other main benefits.
Source: CCTV
How many people were resettled?
The plan was to resettle 1.13 million people, and 1.2964 million had been resettled by the end of 2012, according to People's Daily. At the 175 m pool level the reservoir covers 632 square kilometres of land, including 2 cities, 11 county towns and 116 market towns.
Source: CCTV; People's Daily, 2014
How do ships pass the dam?
Through a twin five-stage ship lock, which began trial navigation in June 2003, with chambers designed at 280 m by 34 m by 5 m, or by a vertical ship lift, which began trial operation in September 2016 and raises one vessel of up to 3,000 tonnes at a time.
Source: CCTV; Guangming Daily
What is the Gezhouba Dam?
Gezhouba is a low dam with locks and a power station at Yichang. Work began in December 1970, water began to be held in June 1981, and it was completed in 1988, with a total storage of 1.58 billion cubic metres. It lies about 38 km below the Three Gorges Dam and works as its downstream shipping step.
Source: Ministry of Water Resources, 2000 sediment bulletin; Xinhua, 2021
When were the early big bridges built?
The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was begun on 1 September 1955 and opened on 15 October 1957. The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was begun in January 1960, and its railway deck opened on 30 September 1968 and its road deck on 29 December 1968. Both carry a road and a railway.
Source: Wuhan government; CPPCC
Which World Heritage sites are linked to the Yangtze?
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan (2003) covers upper reaches of the Jinsha, but UNESCO says large sections of the three rivers lie just outside its boundaries. Qinghai Hoh Xil (2017) is described as an important catchment at the source of the Yangtze. Mount Lushan (1996) is bordered on the north by the river, which lies outside the property. The Baiheliang inscriptions are on China's Tentative List, not the World Heritage List.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre
How do the Yangtze and the Yellow River differ?
Both flow from west to east. The Yangtze passes through 11 provinces, regions and municipalities and enters the East China Sea. The Yellow River passes through nine provinces and regions, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong, and enters the Bohai Sea at Kenli in Dongying, Shandong.
Source: Yangtze Water Resources Commission; National Development and Reform Commission; People's Daily
What is the Great Bend of the Yangtze?
At Shigu in Yulong County, Lijiang, Yunnan, the Jinsha River, the upper Yangtze, meets a mountain barrier and turns sharply from south to northeast in a V-shaped bend. A little further on it runs through Tiger Leaping Gorge between Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain.
Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition, 2024; Guangming Online, 2023
In what order do the main places lie between Chongqing and Yichang?
From west to east: Chaotianmen in Chongqing, the Baiheliang inscriptions at Fuling, Mingshan at Fengdu, Shibaozhai at Zhongxian, Zhang Fei Temple at Yunyang, Baidicheng and Qutang Gorge at Fengjie, the Lesser Three Gorges at Wushan, Wu Gorge, Shennong Stream at Badong, Xiling Gorge, the Three Gorges Dam at Sandouping and the Gezhouba Dam at Yichang.
Source: Chongqing, Fengdu, Zhongxian, Fuling and Hubei government sources
What are the great towers of the Yangtze region?
Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Yueyang Tower in Yueyang and Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang are called the three great towers south of the Yangtze. Yueyang Tower has been a national protected site since 1988, and each tower is tied to a well-known piece of writing: Cui Hao's Tang poem for Yellow Crane Tower and Fan Zhongyan's essay for Yueyang Tower.
Source: Yueyang government; Hubei government; State Council list
