The Gorges' River

Chapter 2 The Gorges’ River

1 Introduction

The Changjiang emerges from the Himalayan mountain zone at the southwestern corner of the Sichuan Basin. By this point, the river has already cov- ered over 2300 km and descended from its source at over 5000 m to merely 260 m above sea level. The upper course is known as the Jinshajiang 金沙江 (literally “river of golden sand”), while the name Changjiang commonly refers to the river from its entrance into the Sichuan Basin and demarcated by its confluence with the Minjiang 岷江. From this point, it forms a large river that mostly meanders through the basin, but at several points narrows down in short gorges that cut through ranges of steep hills. 760 km downriver of the Minjiang confluence, it enters the mountain belt to the east of the basin at Wanxian 萬縣. For 325 km, it runs in the extreme valleys of the Three Gorges area, passing between ranges of over 2000 m. Through this passage, however, the river descends only another 50 m in altitude. On its entrance to the alluvial plains at Yichang 宜昌, it is still 1600 km from its mouth but only 35 m above sea level. Fed by several large tributaries, it becomes a huge body of water that lazily pushes towards the ocean. The formation of the river through the mountain zone of eastern Sichuan and western Hubei appears to contradict the law of gravity that dictates water should flow downward. The river in effect cuts through ridges up to 2000 m in height. An explanation is that the river took over a valley formed by an earlier river that flowed westwards into the inland sea—now the Sichuan Basin— and that the Changjiang gouged out this valley over geological time as the mountains were pushed up, maintaining or regaining its eastward course. The result is a riverine landscape that changes abruptly from open valleys to nar- row gorges, presenting extreme danger to navigation. As the overall gradient of the upper Changjiang is moderate, the current is strong but not insurmount- able for boats. Where the channel widens in the basin, the river meanders and becomes sluggish. When it is constricted, however, the large body of water pushes forward, forming extremely powerful currents. East of Chongqing, comfortable stretches of river become scarce, and downriver of Fengjie 奉節 (Kuizhou 夔州) the valley only rarely opens out enough to allow small patches of land at river level. The number of gorges is in fact a matter of definition, as even the identification of the famous Three Gorges (Sanxia 三峡) has been somewhat fluid through history. The most commonly identified gorges are the

Qutang Gorge (Qutang xia 瞿塘峽), the Wu Gorge (Wu xia 巫峽) and the Xiling Gorge (Xiling xia 西陵峽). The Qutang Gorge has also been called Fengxiang xia 風箱峽 and commonly appears as “Windbox Gorge” in early Western litera- ture, while the Wu Gorge was also known as the Niugan mafei xia 牛肝馬肺峽 (Ox liver and horse lungs gorge), and the Xiling Gorge as the Kongling Gorge (Kongling xia 空舲峽).1 Map 2.1 shows the Changjiang and the partly overlapping names of its different sections; Map 2.2 the area between Chongqing and Yichang with the Three Gorges. Historical names of the Changjiang are overlapping and appear inconsistent. The Jinshajiang refers to the upper course of the river. The Chuanjiang 川江 (Sichuan River) is largely congruent with the modern term “upper Changjiang” (Changjiang shangyou 長江上游), and was used to designate the section from the confluence of the Jinshajiang and the Minjiang in the southwestern corner of the Sichuan Basin to the lower end of the Three Gorges. In addition, the Chuanjiang also includes the lower Minjiang from Leshan 樂山, which was navigable by large craft. In fact, the Minjiang, which was equal in water vol- ume to the Jinshajiang and an important waterway on its course through the Sichuan Basin, was long considered the upper course of the Changjiang. The lower section of the upper Changjiang between Chongqing and Yichang was known as the Gorges’ River (Xiajiang 峡江). The name Changjiang was most commonly used for the middle and lower Changjiang, with Yangzi an alterna- tive name for the lower Changjiang. The sections of the Changjiang and its various names are shown in Map 2.2. The unsystematic nomenclature captures the changes in the river’s character. The Jinshajiang runs along a deeply incised valley through alpine ranges bordering the Tibetan Plateau, permitting shipping only on some sections by small craft. By contrast, the Sichuan River, i.e. the upper Changjiang includ- ing the lower Minjiang, was and still is an important transport artery: a large river that alternates between shallow, meandering stretches and short gorge sections. The river maintains this character through the Sichuan Basin, with the river’s discharge increasing steadily as it receives its numerous tributaries. The two largest of these in the basin’s drainage are the Tuojiang 沱江 and the Jialingjiang 嘉陵江. Downriver of Chongqing, the now powerful river receives few tributaries. The Wujiang 烏江 is the last river of any importance, joining the Changjiang at Fuling 涪陵, and is incidentally also the largest river that descends northwards from the Guizhou Plateau. East of Fuling, only small tributaries flow into the Changjiang, the largest of which are the Kaijiang 開江, which joins at Wanxian, and the Daninghe 大寧河, joining at Wushan 巫山.

1 See the introduction in Lan Yong 2003, as well as Li Xiaobo and Wu Qifu 2004.