Quick Facts About the Yangtze River

Originating on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Yangtze River is China’s longest waterway, running more than 6,300 km through 11 provincial-level regions before emptying into the East China Sea.

A number of the country’s economic powerhouses, megacities and major riceproducing areas are located along the basin of the Yangtze, the world’s third longest river. The Three Gorges project on the upper middle reaches of the river is the world’s largest hydropower project. The vast multi-functional water control system consists of a dam stretching 2,309 meters long and 185 meters high, 32 hydropower turbo-generators, a five-tier ship lock and a ship lift.

In 2019, 2.93 billion tons of cargo was shipped through the main reaches of the Yangtze, an 8.9-percent increase from 2018, ranking first among the world’s inner waterways in terms of cargo flow.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt along the golden waterway comprises Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities, as well as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. It accounts for more than 40 percent of the country’s population and economic aggregate and is also home to nine of the country’s 21 free trade zones.

The Yangtze River Delta, covering Shanghai and neighboring provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, is one of the most populated and urbanized city clusters in China. It is also one of the country’s most economically active regions.

Shanghai, the sixth largest city in GDP terms globally, is home to 758 regional headquarters of foreign-funded multinational companies and the regional headquarters of nearly one fourth of Fortune Global 500 companies.