The Yangtze main stream, known as a gold line of navigation, large and deep, is a great potential in transportation. It’s the main artery of China, which has dozens railway lines serving it. The whole navigation of the river covers 3,638 kilometers, second place in the world. The most part of Yangtze River belongs to the warm and wet climate of subtropics, which is suitable for navigation all the year around. The height of water during the dry season is over 2.9 meters from Chongqing to Yangtze area of Shanghai, while 1,143 kilometers down Wuhan; the height of water is more than 4 meters. The navigation time will be different in rainy seasons and dry seasons. On the Yangtze River system 70% of China’s river traffic moves. And it is responsible for 40% of its total inland transportation.

On the Middle Reaches, be it upriver or downriver between Wuhan to Yichang, barges overloaded with reeds will float past you like haystacks on a river, these reeds hold the soil of the banks together and are used in paper making. Poplars line the parallel country roads where bicycles and carts pass. You will sail a stone throw away from farmers on the shore carrying water buckets on yokes across their backs, peasants in conical hats working their fields, water buffalo plowing fields or cooling off in the Yangtze and country maidens in red or pink. What an idyllic life, right out of picture book stories. You can hear cows mooing, birds chirping, buffalo grunting and cuing doves. You will breath the country air. Near Wuhan and downstream on the way to Shanghai, you will see a vast array of boats plying the waters, carrying passengers from town to town and commuters across the “Long River-Great”, In one stretch you may see a conveyor belt loading a barge, trucks dumping coal onto a barge, three wheeler carrying cargo down to the shore and coolies hand carrying sacks onto a boat. This is a dichotomy of Chinese industrialization a in a micro view.