Length6.3 million m
350 millionthsLight-minutes
105 millionStacked hamsters
Third-longest river in the world
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Yangtze River
Asia's longest river, flowing 6,300 km through the heart of China/Rivers
The Yangtze (Chang Jiang) is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world at 6,300 km. It rises on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at over 5,000 m elevation and flows east through gorges, plains, and megacities to the East China Sea near Shanghai. Its basin is home to one-third of China's population (about 400 million people). The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the world's largest hydroelectric power station. The river is also home to the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise.
Measurements
Drainage basin1.8 trillion m2
1.1 billionHockey rinks
1.3 trillionOffice desks
6.9 billionTennis court areas
1.8 million square kilometers
Average discharge30,000 m3
1 tenthsOil tankers
85.7 millionCoffee mugs
26,549Porta-potties
Per second at the mouth
Source elevation5,170 m
287,222Ring diameters
161,563SD card lengths
22,478Wine glass heights
Tanggula Mountains, Tibet
Maximum width2,800 m
1,315Christmas trees
2,800Belt lengths
At the river mouth near Shanghai
Three Gorges Dam height181 m
402Shoulder widths
3.6 millionPlant cells
4 tenthsVatican City widths
World's largest hydroelectric dam