The longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world, flowing right across China.
Length
6,300 km
Source
Tibetan Plateau (Tanggula Mountains)
Mouth
East China Sea (near Shanghai)
Continent
Asia
Countries
China
Did you know?
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the largest power station in the world by capacity.
Little-known fact
The river was home to the baiji, a freshwater dolphin declared functionally extinct in 2006 — one of the first dolphin species lost to human activity.
Highlights
- Longest river in Asia
- Dammed by the vast Three Gorges Dam
- Once home to the now-lost baiji dolphin
Life in the Yangtze
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Northern pike
A long, torpedo-shaped ambush predator that lurks among weeds across the cool rivers and lakes of the north.
Wels catfish
A monstrous European catfish that can top 2.5 m and has learned to beach itself to catch pigeons.
Waterbirds
Common kingfisher
A dazzling blue-and-orange dart that plunges from a perch to spear fish in an instant.
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Water plants & reeds
Sacred lotus
A revered Asian water plant whose leaves are so water-repellent that dirt rolls straight off them.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here