The Yangtze flows through nine provinces of China and drains an area equal to 695,000 square miles of land. The river has served as a means of transportation for 2,000 years. Settlements raised up on the banks of and near the Yangtze River very early in the history of human civilization. The river is also used for sight-seeing tours and for private travel. In the south, people grew rice along the Yangtze river, ate a good amount fish, together with vegetables, especially water plants such as water chestnuts and lotus. Yangtze River became an important part of the economy since the Han Dynasty. In 256 BC the Song Dynasty’s villages along the river became the wealthiest in China. The Yangtze River provided half of China’s incomes. He yellow
