"The Origin of China"

"The Origin of China"

Shigu, Yunnan.

The Three Parallel Rivers arising from the Himalayas, that flow in the Yunnan Protected Area, are the Yangtze (Jinsha), Mekong (Lancang) and Nujiang (Salween) rivers. They flow south towards Burma, Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin.

However, the Yangtze does an abrupt turn. At a small town called Shigu, the Yangtze, changes direction, and it is this change that is responsible for what we know as China.

Having carved its way off the plateau and flowing south along with the Mekong, and the Salween , the Yangtze meets an obstruction.

From Michael Palin's Himalayas:

"A thousand miles of tumbling water heading for Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin is, within a few hundred yards, spun round to the north and, though it twists and turns and tries to find its way south again, it is now effectively a Chinese river, heading east to create the enormous bowl of fertility and prosperity that is the heart and soul of the Middle Kingdom".

The Yangtze Rive Basin is home to 500 million people or a third of the the population of China. Both historically and today, it is responsible for much of the wildlife, culture and economic wellbeing of China.

1dx, Zeiss 21mm, 16 image panorama




Ref:
Date:
Location:
Shigu, Yunnan
Photographer:
Alvin Ing

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