Yangtze River Length - 6,300 Kilometers (3,915 Miles)

How long is the Yangtze River? The Yangtze River length is more than 6,300 kilometers (3,915 miles), ranking the third all over the world after the Nile River in Africa and the Amazon River in South America. However, the Nile flows through nine countries and the Amazon through seven countries, while the whole Yangtze River is only in China.
 

Yangtze River starts from the southwestern side of Mt. Geladaindong, Tanggula Mountains, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where is called “The Roof of the World”. The main stream flows through central China from west to east, passing by 11 provincial administrative regions, including Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai, and finally goes into East China Sea at the east of Chongming Island.
 

The upper reaches of Yangtze River is from its start to Yichang, Hubei Province, with a length of 4,504 kilometers (2,798.6 miles) and a drainage area of 1 million square kilometers (over 247 million acres). In the upper reaches, the section from Zhimenda, Qinghai to Yibin, Sichuan is usually called Jinsha River, which is 3,464 kilometers (2,152.4 miles) long; and the section from Yibin to Yichang is usually called Chuanjiang River of 1,040 kilometers (646.2 miles).

The length of Yangtze River middle reaches is 955 kilometers (593.4 miles), which is from Yichang to Hukou, Jiangxi Province with a drainage area of 680,000 square kilometers (about 168 million acres).

The section downstream from Hukou is the lower reaches that is 938 kilometers (582.8 miles) long and covers a drainage area of 120,000 square kilometers (about 29.7 million acres).

 

The source of Yangtze River is a large area in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the argument about which river is the main source of the Yangtze River has been discussed for long, which has a vital influence on the Yangtze River length.

The widely recognized Yangtze River source is Tuotuo River. Starting from it, the Yangtze River length is 6,397 kilometers (3974.9 miles).

But some geographers and surveying and mapping experts think Dangqu River should be the main source, because both the runoff and the drainage area of Dangqu River is much larger than Tuotuo River’s. In 2001, a group of scientists used satellite remote sensing images to measure and calculate the Yangtze River length with the Dangqu River as the main source. The new result is 6,211.3 kilometers (3859.5 miles).
 

There are hundreds of tributaries converging into the main stream of Yangtze River from both sides. These tributaries run through a large area including Guizhou, Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, and the total tributary area of Yangtze River reaches 1.8 million square kilometers (445 million acres), accounting for about one-fifth of China's total land area. Meanwhile, most water of Huai River also runs into Yangtze River through the Grand Canal.

Minjiang River - 735 kilometers (456.7 miles): It flows into Yangtze River in Yibin, and it has the largest annual runoff among tributaries.

Jialing River - 1,120 kilometers (695.9 miles): It runs into Yangtze River in Chongqing and has the largest tributary area.

Hanjiang River - 1,577 kilometers (979.9 miles): It runs into Yangtze River in Hankou, Wuhan, Hubei Province.

Ya-lung River - 1,637 kilometers (1,017.2 miles): It goes into the Yangtze in Panzhihua, Sichuan.

Tuojiang River - 702 kilometers (436.2 miles): It pours itself into the Yangtze in Luzhou, Sichuan.

Wujiang River - 1,037 kilometers (644.4 miles): The confluence into Yangtze River is in Fuling, Chongqing.

Xiang River - 844 kilometers (524.5 miles): It flows into Dongting Lake and Yangtze River in Yueyang, Hunan.