The great rivers are the main arteries of China, as traffic and trade takes place along their length, and they are navigable
a large distance from the sea. The rivers also link the mountainous countryside in Western China (where they arise) with the costal plains. But of these great rivers, the Yangtze is by far the most important. It is the longest river in all of Asia, and the third longest river in the world. Just imagine – its watershed area is seven times the area of Great Britain, and its river basin is populated by more than two hundred million people!
And their destiny is linked with that of the river, as it brings fertility to otherwise barren soil. But vast quantities of mud are also dumped into the sea, and dredging / maintenance work is routinely required to keep the channels clear for large vessels. High dykes have been built along the river, but sometimes this is not sufficient, and river breaches results in floods along its length.
By controlling the waters of the river, the Yangtze Gorge Project will prevent floods, irrigates large areas of land and generates much needed hydro-electricity for China’s industries. Being constructed over the past two decades, with a completion date of 2009, it will be the world’s largest hydro-electricity project. But environmentalists argue that it will cause a permanent change in the region’s ecology.
At the mouth of the river’s estuary is Shanghai, one of the major industrial and trading centers of the world. Other cities along the river length include Nanking, Hankow and Chungking. All sort of vessels ply its length, from ocean going ships to transportation ferries to trading vessels to fishing boats. The Yangtze River is also noted for its majestic scenery in the region of the gorges.
The Yangtze was once known as the “river of golden sands”, as Chinese used to sift its soil for gold in the Yunnan region. Gone, too, are the days when Chinese peasants would spend their entire lives on river boats…and strength and skill were required to navigate craft along its turbulent rapids.