The
Yangtze River or
Chang Jiang (
simplified Chinese ??;
traditional Chinese ??;
pinyin Cháng Jiang) is the longest
river in
Asia and the third longest in the world, after the
Amazon in
South America, and the
Nile in
Africa. The river is about 6,300
km long and flows from its source in
Qinghai Province, eastwards into the
East China Sea at
Shanghai. It has traditionally been considered a dividing line between
North and South China, although geographers consider the
Qinling-
Huai River line to be the official line of geographical division. As the largest river in the region, the Yangtze is historically, culturally, and economically important to
China.
The name Yangtze River, as well as various similar names such as Yangtse River, Yangzi River, Yangtze Kiang etc., is derived from Yangzi Jiang (simplified Chinese ???; traditional Chinese ???; pinyin Yángzi Jiang) listen&_160;(help·info), which, beginning in the Sui Dynasty, was the Chinese name for the river in its lower reaches, specifically, the stretch between Yangzhou (??) and Zhenjiang (??). The name derives from the ancient ferry crossing Yangzi Jin (???, meaning "Yangzi Crossing"). From the Ming dynasty, the name was sometimes written ?? (yángzi). Because it was the name first heard by missionaries and traders, this name was applied in English to the entire river. In Chinese, Yangzi Jiang is considered a historical or poetic name for the river. The modern Chinese name, Chang Jiang (??/?? Cháng Jiang), literally means "long river" and may sometimes also be used in English.
Like many rivers, the river is known by different names over its course. At its source it is called in Chinese the Dangqu (??, from the Tibetan for "marsh river"). Downstream it is called the Tuotuo River (???) and then the Tongtian River (???, literally "pass to heaven river"). Where it runs through deep gorges parallel to the Mekong and the Salween before emerging onto the plains of Sichuan, it is known as the Jinsha River (??? Jinsha Jiang, literally "golden sands river").
The Yangtze was earlier known to the Chinese as simply Jiang (? Jiang), which has become a generic name meaning "river," or the Da Jiang (?? Dà Jiang, literally "great river"). The Tibetan name for the river is Drichu (Tibetan ????????;&_160;Wylie 'bri chu, lit. "river of the female yak"). The Yangtze is sometimes referred to as the Golden Waterway.
