China abounds in rivers. More than 1,500 rivers each
drain 1,000 sq km or larger areas. More than 2,700 billion
cu m of water flow along these rivers, 5.8 percent of the
world’s total. Most of the large rivers find their
source in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and as a result China
is rich in water-power resources, leading the world in
hydropower potential, with reserves of 680 million kw.
China’s rivers can be categorized as
exterior and interior systems. The catchment area for the
exterior rivers that empty into the oceans accounts for 64
percent of the country’s total land area. The Yangtze,
Yellow, Heilongjiang, Pearl, Liaohe, Haihe, Huaihe and
Lancang rivers flow east, and empty into the Pacific Ocean.
The Yarlungzangbo River in Tibet, which flows first east and
then south into the Indian Ocean, boasts the Grand
Yarlungzangbo Canyon, the largest canyon in the world, 504.6
km long and 6,009 m deep. The Ertix River flows from the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the Arctic Ocean. The
catchment area for the interior rivers that flow into inland
lakes or disappear into deserts or salt marshes makes up 36
percent of China’s total land area. Its 2,179 km make
the Tarim River in southern Xinjiang China’s
longest interior river.
The
Yangtze is the largest river in China. The picture shows the
Xilingxia Gorge of the Yangtze River.
The Yangtze is the largest river
in China, and the third- longest in the world, next only to
the Nile in northeast Africa and the Amazon in South
America. It is 6,300 km long, and has a catchment area of
1.809 million sq km. The middle and lower Yangtze
River’s warm and humid climate, plentiful rainfall and
fertile soil make the area an important agricultural region.
Known as the “golden waterway,” the Yangtze is a
transportation artery linking west and east. The Yellow
River is the second-largest river in China, 5,464 km in
length, with a catchment area of 752,000 sq km. The Yellow
River valley was one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese
civilization. It has lush pastureland and abundant mineral
deposits. The Heilongjiang River is north China’s
largest. It has a total length of 4,350 km, of which 3,101
km are within China. The Pearl River is the largest river in
south China, with a total length of 2,214 km. In addition to
those endowed by nature, China has a famous man-made
river—he Grand Canal, running from Beijing in the
north to Hangzhou in the south. Work first began on the
Grand Canal as early as in the fifth century B.C. It links
five major rivers—the Haihe, Yellow, Huaihe, Yangtze
and Qiantang. With a total length of 1,801 km, the Grand
Canal is the longest as well as the oldest man-made waterway
in the world.
Erhai
Lake is a fresh water lake on the plateau of Yunnan. The
picture shows the Triple Pagodas, one of the famous scenes
by Erhai Lake.
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