Chang Jiang

4B Lam Ka Kit(8)

Chang Jiang: Imformation

• is the longest river in Asia

• third-longest in the world

• It flows for 6,418 kilometres from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into theEastChinaSea at Shanghai.

Chang Jiang: Imformation(2)

• one of the biggest rivers in the world

Length:6,380(km)

Drainage area:1,940,000(km²)

Average discharge:35,000(m²/s)

The Chang's upper course, called the Jinsha or Kinsha, is roughly half its total length and flows southeast through forested, steep-walled gorges 2,000–4,000 ft (610–1,220 m) deep. Chang turns NE toward the Sichuan basin. At Yibin, on the western edge of the Sichuan basin, the river becomes the Chang proper and is joined by the “four rivers of Sichuan” (Min, Tuo, Fou, and Jailing).

East of Yichang, the Chang enters the lake-studded middle basin of Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provs., a rich agricultural and industrial region; Wuhan, at the confluence of the Han and Chang, is the principal city.

The huge Dongting and Poyang lakes, which receive the Yuan, Zi, and Xiang rivers and the Gan River, respectively, are linked by numerous channels with the Chang and serve as natural overflow reservoirs.

Although the Chang does not often floods it has occasionally caused wide damage , great floods occurred in 1931, 1954, and 1998. The fertile middle basin is China's most productive agricultural region; rice is the main crop.

Dams• Till 2007, there are two dams built on the Yangtze river:

Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba Dam. Several dams are being constructed on the upper portion of the river, the Jinsha River.

• The Yangtze River has over 700 tributaries. The major tributaries with the locations of Yalong River, Min River, Jialing River, Wu Jiang, Qing Jiang, Yuan River, Zi Shui, Xiang River, Han River and Gan River.

Others

• There were no bridges across the Yangtze River from Yibin to Shanghai until 1957.

• By early 21century, there were a total of 56 bridges and one tunnel across the Yangtze River between Yibin and Shanghai which include some of the longest suspension and cable-stayed bridges in the world on the Yangtze Delta: Jiangyin Suspension Bridge (1385m, opened in 1999), Runyang Bridge (1490m, opened 2005), Sutong Bridge(1088m, opened 2008). The rapid building of bridge construction has continued. For instance, the city of Wuhan now has six bridges and one tunnel across the Yangtze.

Reference

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

• http://www.springerlink.com/content/131l924p50357750

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