Jinsha River

Jinsha River – Brief Introduction

Jinsha River is the upper reach of Yangtze River of China. It originates from the Geladandong Snow Mountain of the middle part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Tourists will have a chance to see how magnificent the Jinsha River is on the way to Tibet. When the water of Yangtze River converges with Tongtian River and then flows through Hengduan Mountain Range by way of Yushu County of Qinghai Province, it is called Jinsha River. Jinsha River flows through the northwest part of Yunnan Plateau, the mountain land of the southwestern Sichuan Province and connects to the Minjiang River of Yibin City of Sichuan Basin. It is approximately 2316 kilometers long and covers an area of 34000 square kilometers. As it flows through Hengduan Mountain Range torrentially from the southeast part, and then turns to the northeast nearby Shigu Town of Yunnan Province, it forms the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge. The height difference between the high mountains on both sides of the Tiger Leaping Gorge and the river surface is approximately 2500-3000 meters. It is one of the deepest gorges of the world.

Jinsha River – Attraction

Acted as the boundary river of Sichuan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region, Jinsha River is originated from the north part of Geladandong Snow Mountain of Tanglha Snow Mountain of Qinghai Province. It is actually located at gateway of Qamdo Prefecture of Tibet and the boundary area of Gyangda County and Sichuan Province. It flows through the eastern edges of Gyangda County, Gonggye County and Mangkang County and then flows into Yunnan Province.

It is approximately 587 kilometers long in Qamdo Prefecture. The river surface is about 3340 meters high to 2296 meters high. The height difference is about 1044 meters. The height difference is about 3300 meters. There are rich in the mineral resources, but the navigation along Jinsha River is dangerous as the rivers flows torrentially.

Jinsha River – Climate

Influenced by the general atmospheric circulation, it is characteristic of the continental climate in Jinsha River Basin in winter. The winter is available in the north part of Hengduan Mountain Range from the October to May next year, and it is available from the November to April next year in other areas. In summer, there is lots of rainfall from June to September, or May to October.

Jinsha River – Geography

The geography of Jinsha River Valley is characteristic of the upper part, the middle part and the lower part. The left side of Jinsha River is Que er Mountain, Shaluli Mountain, and Zhongdian Snow Mountain, and the right side is Damla Mountain, Lingjing Mountain, Mangkang Mountain and Yunlingzhu Mountain. Lancang River is on the west of Lingjing Mountain and Yunlingzhu Mountain. Nu River is available on the west of Lancang River after passing Taniantawong Mountain. Yarlong River is available on the east of Shaluli Mountain and it is the largest branch river of Jinsha River. Those large rivers cross the high mountains and mostly flow to the south, which finally form the Hengduan Mountain Region.