Travel to China Famous Chinese Rivers

Yangtze River Wikipedia

river|Yangtze River|Image:Yangzi_river_ship_yard_on_river_bank.jpg|300px|A shipyard on the banks of the Chang Jiang building commercial river freight boats|6,380|?|31,900|1,800,000|Qinghai Province and Tibet|East China Sea||China



The Yangtze River (zh-cp|c=扬子江|p=Yángzǐ Jiāng) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Amazon River|Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa. The Chinese name of the river is Chang Jiang (zh-stpl|t=長江 |s=长江|p=Cháng Jiāng|l=Long River), and this name is also found on many modern maps in English.

The name Yangzi (whence the Yangtze) was originally used by local people to refer to the lower reaches of the river. However, because this was the name first heard by missionaries and colonists, it has been applied in English to the entire river. This name is found in many forms, including Yangtse River, Yangtsze Kiang, etc. Where it runs through deep gorges in parallel to the Mekong and the Salween before emerging onto the plains of Sichuan it is known to the Chinese as the Jinsha river (金沙江 Jīnshā-jiāng or 'Golden Sands River'). The Yangtze is sometimes referred to as the Golden Waterway.

The river is about 6,380 km long. It has traditionally been considered a dividing point between North China and South China|north China and south China, although the Huai River also shares the claim.

Last Modified:   2005-04-13