Chinese scientists pinpoint source of Yangtze's main tributary

Chinese scientists released new data identifying the source and length of the Jialing River, a main tributary of the Yangtze River, China's longest and the world's third-longest river. Based on the new data, the origin of the Jialing River is pinpointed at Baozuo village in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The river runs 1,345 kilometers long, according to the new findings of the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Prior to the finding, there were arguments about the source of the Jialing River. Some scientists traced it to Qinling Mountain Range, a major landmark dividing the country's north and south. Some said it originated from northwest China's Gansu Province and others said it came from a canyon in Sichuan Province. Its length was previously estimated at between 1,120 and 1,250 kilometers. Located in western China, the Jialing River runs through Shaanxi, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing municipality and meets the Yangtze River in Yuzhong District in Chongqing. "The data on the sources and lengths of major world rivers recorded in various documents were the results of previous geographers and explorers' efforts. But with the improvement of technologies, important geographical data should be updated," said Liu Shaochuang, a leading scientist on the research project. "We pinpointed its source based on high-resolution remote-sensing images. Then we conducted field investigations to the source area to confirm the findings," Liu said. Liu has worked to locate the sources of the world's longest rivers since the 1990s. He has pinpointed the sources of 21 principal rivers and measured their lengths by using satellite remote-sensing technology and conducting field investigations. Some of Liu's previous findings have been cited by the U.S. National Geographic Society and the Mekong River Commission.