Yangzi River

The Yangzi River starts in the mountains of Tibet and empties into the ocean at Shanghai, a distance of 6,380 kms, making it the third longest river in the world.  Its Chinese name is simply Chang Jiangor (Long River). The most impressive section of the river is the three Yangzi River Gorges: Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge, collectively known as Sanxia, or The Three Gorges.

It is one of China's most important transport routes, carrying a huge amount of cargo and passengers, yet also one of China's most formidable barriers. The north and south of the country were for centuries effectively cut off from one another by this huge river, treacherous for its floods and the vast amount of water it drains from the heart of the Asian continent. It is also seen by the Chinese to be a division in cultural matters; those who live north of it are wheat and dry grain eaters and those who live to its south are rice eaters.