The Yangtze River in China is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, after the Amazon River in South America and the Nile River in Africa.
The Chinese name of the Yangtze River is Truong Giang (meaning long river). The name Duong Tu River was initially used by local people to refer to the downstream area of the river.
However, because this was the first name that traders and preachers heard about the river, it was quickly used for the entire river, according to the sheppardsoftware.com news site.
In the upstream of the Yangtze River - the section of the river flowing through deep canyons parallel to the Mekong River (called Lan Thuong River in China) and the Salween River to the plains in Sichuan - the Chinese call it the Kim Sa River (Golden Cat River).
The Yangtze River is about 6,380km long, flowing into the East China Sea. The Yangtze River and the Hoai River are both considered the dividing point between northern and southern China.
Since June 2003, the Three Gorges Dam has officially blocked the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Dam has now become one of the world's largest hydropower and flood control projects. The Three Gorges Reservoirs contribute to freeing people living along the river from floods that have been constantly threatening them before, providing electricity and waterway transportation, but also causing permanent flooding in many villages and affecting the local ecosystem.
collacutt-travel.com news site has reviewed 10 interesting information about the Yangtze River:
1. The Yangtze River basin covers about 20% of China's vast land area.
2. The Yangtze River is the busiest river in the world with tourist boats, ferries, and transport barges running along the river.
3. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.
4. The Yangtze River and its branches have more than 50 bridges, all of which were built after 1955. Before that, people often crossed the river by ferry.
5. The Yangtze River has more than 700 branches, each of which forms an important aspect of the Chinese economy.
6. Due to pollution of the water source of the Yangtze River, many endemic animals typical of the river such as the Yangtze crocodile, the Yangtze River snakehead fish and the Yangtze River spoon fish are endangered.
7. Activities in the Yangtze River basin may have originated 27,000 years ago.
8. Historical records show that in 1342 and 1954, the water of the Yangtze River dried up in Jiangsu Province. The river is so dry that the riverbed can be seen.
9. Floods in the Yangtze River have claimed more lives than any other country-related disaster has ever been recorded. Flooding along the Yangtze River was once a major problem, with the most recent being in 1998.
Previously, the catastrophic flood in the Yangtze River in 1954 took about 30,000 lives. Other serious floods in the Yangtze River were the 2010 flood that claimed about 100,000 lives, the 2021 flood that killed 145,000 people, and the 2015 flood that killed 142,000 people.
10. The Yangtze River is the origin of more cities than any other river in the world. The river moves through different regions of China, including Taheinan, Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai.
