Introduction

Coursing over a distance of 6,380 kilometers, the mighty Yangtze is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and  the Nile in Africa. Yangtze Area is also a cradle of ancient Chinese civilization.

The Yangtze, rising in the glaciers and snow-- covered mountains of the "Roof of the World", the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and fed by hundreds of tributaries, wanders eastward across the mainland of china. It makes an incessant rush into the East China Sea. The enormous inexhaustible hydroelectric resources of the Yangtze, producing no waste gases, no waste water, or waste residues, is superior to oilfields and coalfields and therefore considered the "King" of all energies capable of generating huge profits with a minimum input.

From its source to its estuary, the Yangtze River  meanders over 6,300 kilometers. Its annual runoff into the potential of up to 268 million km. The most impressive section of the river is the three Yangtze River gorges: the Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge, collectively known as the Sanxia, or Three Gorges. 

The Yangtze is divided into three parts: The upper reaches from the source in Qinghai Province to Yichang in Hubei Province, a distance of some 4,400 km. This stretch is one of great beauty, with Wild Mountain ranges, unbroken ravines, unnavigable rapids and rushing torrents. The Three Gorges are included in this section, as is the Sichuan Basin.

The Middle Reaches from Yichang to Hukou at the mouth of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, a distance of about 1000 km. Here, the river widens and flows through flat, low-lying land and is fed by waters from tow hughe Lakes, the Dongting and the Poyang. This is the region where the battle against flooding has been carried on for centuries, earten dykes and paved embankments tell of past and present heroic struggles.

The lower reach from Hukou to the estuary, a distance of some 900 km. The landscape in the river's lower course is typified by a flat delta plain crisscrossed by canals and waterways, with soil so rich and water so abundant. The region has been known for centuries as the Land of Fish and Rice.

Three Gorges, the most outstanding part of YangTze River : Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge, together markes as Sanxia . It's 192km long, Qutang Gorge, famous for its majestic look, is only 8km long. Wu Gorge, 44 km long, is special for its deep valley and quietness. Under 12 peaks, the famous peak is the Goddess Fee. Xiling Gorge is 66km long and has many precipitous mountains and beaches.

Yichang City is located at the west of China's Hubei Province, is where the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River are divided. Yichang has been defined as a distributing center, an important trading port and a transportation hub along the Yangtze River linking west Hubei and east Sichuan since ancient times. For a very long time, it has been renown as Gateway to the Three Gorges and throat between Sichuan and Hubei. Today , Yichang remains a brisk river port of China, controlling the access from Chongqing City to its southwest.

Chongqing is having radical reconstructive surgery: In 1997, it became the fourth city to achieve the status of municipality (after Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai). With summers so hot it's been dubbed one of China's Three Furnaces, and streets so steep that no one rides a bike, terrain and weather were once its chief claims to fame. Now, this cliff-side city overlooking the confluence of the Chang and Jialing rivers has much to boast about. Chongqing is the biggest metropolitan area in the world (surpassing Tokyo); it's got the world's biggest dam site downriver; and it's in the midst of building the world's tallest skyscraper (the Chongqing Tower). But whether all this development is a boom or a binge is yet to be seen.

Wuhan, is an important city in the central part of China. As an important hub of north-south, west-east water and land communications, it is considered "a passage way to nine provinces".

The Three Gorges Dam, is the largest water conservancy project ever built in the world. The total duration of construction will last from 1998 to 2009. It will be the most important project functioning as a backbone in the flood control system to protect the areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Dam will be 2,335 meters long, 185 meters high, 18 meters wide on top and 130 meters wide at the bottom. The Dam will raise the river to a level of 175 meters above sea level, creating a 600-kilometer long reservoir with a storage capacity of 39.9 billion cubic meters extending from the dam-site all the way to Chongqing.