The Yangtze River, also called as The Long River in Chinese as it is China's longest river as well, originates from the Chinese Qinghai Province, located on the north-eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. The Three Gorges Dam built on the river is the world's largest hydro-electric power station in the world.

Yangtze River is used by farmers for the irrigation of wheat and rice. As the grain produced by the Yangtze River is enough for almost half of the nation, this river is also known as Mother River. The entire water network of the Yangtze River covers an area of nearly 1,800,000 square kilometres, which is almost 18.8 per cent of the land area of China and covers nearly 25 per cent of China's total farming area.

The source of origination of the Yangtze River is in the Dangla Mountain Range, situated in the central part of the Tibetan plateau. In this range there is a mountain called Geladandong Mountain (21,722 feet) which has a glacier called the Jianggendiru Glacier. This glacier is the main point of origin of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River flows through 13 Chinese provinces before draining into the East China Sea, north of Shanghai.

After entering the central Chinese province, Hubei, the Yangtze River is joined by water from many lakes which increases its water flow. The largest lake which merges with the Yangtze River is Dongting Lake, a shallow lake in China's Hunan Province. After entering the city of Wuhan, the Yangtze River is joined by the Han River, Yangtze's major tributary. The Yangtze River has nearly 700 tributaries. Some of its key tributaries are Xiang River, Lishui River, Yalong River, Min River, Tuo River, Jialing River and Huangbo River.

The major Chinese cities located near or around the Yangtze River are Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing, Chengdu and Nanjing. The Yangtze River is also one of the busiest waterways in the world as it creates a link between the interior parts of China with its coastal areas. This traffic includes both passengers and cargo. In 2005-06, the cargo transportation on the Yangtze River reached nearly 795 million tons. In 2008, construction of an underwater tunnel was completed beneath the Yangtze River which also eased and increased transportation across the river.

Due to heavy rainfalls from May to August, the north and south parts of the Yangtze River receive heavy floods.

In 1954, the Yangtze River floods destroyed the surrounding area and there were nearly 30,000 casualties. In 1931 due to the floods in the Yangtze River, almost 145,000 people died. There are almost 350 million people living around the Yangtze River and the adjacent areas have wildlife which includes Tibetan antelopes, Mongolian gazelles; while the Chinese alligator and the Chinese paddlefish have been declared as an endangered species.