Chinese Chang Jiang or Ch'ang Chiang
River, China.
Rising in the eastern Kunlun Mountains in western China, it flows southeast, continuing east across Yunnan province and then across the rest of south-central China to the East China Sea near Shanghai . It is known as the Jinsha in its upper course. It is the world's third longest river, 3,915 mi (6,300 km) long. Navigable for 585 mi (940 km), it becomes harder to navigate above Yichang because of the gorges that occur between Chongqing , at 650 ft (200 m), and Yichang, at 130 ft (40 m). Its chief tributaries are the Yalong , Min , Jialing, Han , and Wu rivers. Several large cities, including Shanghai, Nanjing , Wuhan , and Chongqing, lie in the river's basin, which is known as the granary of China. The controversial Three Gorges Dam Project , first discussed in the 1920s and promoted in the 1950s by Mao Zedong , was inaugurated in 1994. Located west of Yichang, it will enable freighters to navigate 1,400 mi (2,250 km) inland from the East China Sea to Chongqing.