"The World's Third Largest River" Changjiang by cuicui

Most major rivers in the west of China originate on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (which is the roof of the world, Tibetan Plateau has an average altitude of 4000 meters), including Changjiang (which literally means 'the long river' and which is also called 'the Yangtze'). It runs 6300 kilometers and enters the Pacific at *Shanghai* (which means going out to the sea/ocean). The narrowest and most scenic reaches of the River are the Three Gorges, which I toured in the summer of 1997 before the construction of the gigantic Three Gorges Dam (Dr. Sun Yet-san first envisioned such a Dam; Jiang Kaishak also wanted to build it; but it is under the present government's reign that this new world wonder is finally being actualized). The other also gigantic Gezhou Dam has been there for years. I've toured Erie Canal (New York State), which has the same system for letting boats go through dams but which is so much smaller.
I see a lot of similarities and differences between the Chinese and U. S. landscape: plateaus and moutains in the west and altitudes gradually go down towards the east. China's territory is a little bit bigger than the U. S. territory (China is #3 and the U. S. is #4), the Yangtze is bigger than the Father River Mississippi (world's 4th largest). But the U. S. has coasts on both the east and west, while China is inland in the west. Latitudes of the two countries are similar, covering mild, subtropical, and tropical areas, which makes it possible that both countries are very rich in natural resources and have all kinds of natural wonders for people to enjoy. According to geopolitical views, only these two countries can match each other, both are God's pet children! China is the biggest ancient civilized kingdom (the other 3 being ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, and ancient India). China has already shown herself as an 'ancient' civilization rejuvenized. One major Oriental nation, one major Occidental nation, China and the U. S. are definitely shoulder to shoulder!

I really LOST myself while I was on the boat for three days and nights. Another student and I stayed on the deck day and night until we couldn't see anything, while the other students were chatting and playing cards in the cabin (which accommodated 14 of us).

The big River is polluted and muddy, and I was so sad to watch it flow Heavily. But the branches can be pretty clear. The small Three Gorges are blue and green, and the small small Three Gorges is clear to the bottom. It's not deep at all anyway and we drifted downstream without any power in yatchs drenching ourselves all over! I never know why vapors keep rising from the mountains. Some slopes are tiered fields.