The Chang Jiang (長江 pinyin chang2 jiang1), literally 'long river', is the longest river in Asia at some 6,380km. It flows in to the East China Sea. As of June 2003 the Three Gorges Dam now spans the river, flooding Fengjie[?], the first of a number of towns affected by the massive flood control and power generation project.
The river is also called Yangzi Jiang (楊子江 pinyin yang2 zi3 jiang1, Wade-Giles Yangtze Kiang). The name Yangzi (or Yangtse) was originally used by local people only to refer to the lower reaches of the river. However, because this was the name first heard by missionaries, it has been applied in English to the entire river.
See Also: Huang He (Yellow River), Geography of China
