What is the source of the Yangtze River in China?

Tuotuo, also known as Tuotuo, the source of the Yangtze River, originates from the Jianggendi Glacier, which is like a snow-capped mountain in the southwest of Gladin, the main peak of Tanggula, and its tail end is nearly 5500 meters above sea level. There are huge snow mountains here. There are 20 snow peaks above 6000 meters above sea level, and the permanent snow line is as high as 5800 meters. There are 40 modern glaciers and many ice buckets on the peak. Starting from Hoh Xil, passing through Wudaoliang, Fengvolcano and Tuotuo, it is the hardest section among thousands of kilometers of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and it is also the least traveled area. Tuotuo is the source of the Yangtze River. As early as in the history books, people were discussing the source of the Yangtze River. Xu Xiake, a famous traveler in Ming Dynasty, thought that Jinsha River was the source of the Yangtze River and wrote a book about the source of the Yangtze River. By the Qing Dynasty, people had known the Tongtian River, but they still could not determine the source of the Yangtze River. 1956 and 1977, China visited the source area of the Yangtze River twice. In the investigation of 1977, the Tuotuo River, which originated in Ladandong, was finally determined as the positive source of the Yangtze River. When Tuotuo River originates from Gangendi Glacier in Gradan, it is a small stream, where some glaciers and ice buckets meet. At this time, the water surface was only 3 meters wide and only 20 centimeters deep, and then it flowed to the north for 9 kilometers. At the foot of Badong Mountain, the meltwater of Gacha Dirugang Snow Mountain Glacier is gathered. After crossing a valley about 15 km long, continue north and split in two. At the exit of this valley, the valley suddenly cut down, forming a steep canyon about 5 kilometers long and more than 20 meters high. After the river flows out of Badong Mountain, it first passes through a vast floodplain, then passes through a canyon, flows to the vicinity of Hulu Lake, and turns east sharply. After more than 130 kilometers, the river widened. When it reached Tuotuo River along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, it was already a big river with a depth of 3 meters and a width of 20-60 meters. The famous first bridge over the Yangtze River stands on the Tuotuo floodplain, with a total length of 324 meters. A reinforced concrete bridge with a width of 1 1 m. Tuotuo River continues eastward from here and joins Dangqu, Buqu and Dolqu when it reaches Nangji Balong. After 375 kilometers, a river with a width of more than 30 meters was formed here, hence the name Tongtianhe. People living at the source of the Yangtze River arrived safely at Tuotuo at 5 o'clock that afternoon. There is not much change between here and when I saw it 15 years ago. The former Yangtze River Bridge was replaced by a new bridge of 200 1, and the surrounding buildings increased a lot, especially the gas station. Due to the railway construction, the number of units has also temporarily increased. Seen from a distance, Tuotuo River, which consists of dozens of streams, is very wide. A 100-meter-long railway bridge spans the wide river high, just like a masterpiece, which is very spectacular. A large area of adobe houses under the bridge not far from the river is the home of people living at the source of the Yangtze River. Here is the source of the Yangtze River, with an altitude of 4,700 meters, formerly known as Tuotuohe Township, and now it is changed to Tanggula Mountain Township. The township government compound and the adjacent Hope Primary School are the best buildings in the township. Cai Zhu, a judicial assistant of the township government, told me that the complete primary school building in Tanggula Mountain Township was newly built in 2003 with the assistance of the builders of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. At present, there are more than 0/00 students and 20 teachers in school, and Tibetan-Chinese bilingual teaching is implemented. He told me that more than 300 households in the township are Tibetans, while only 30 households in the township government. Hotels, shops and auto repairs on both sides of the highway are run by foreigners from Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi. Later, Cai Zhu accompanied me to visit several villages. Cai San, a 52-year-old secretary of the First Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Society in Tanggula Mountain Area, told me in simple Chinese that his family has 92 yaks and more than 800 sheep. Recently, he bought Dongfeng trucks and motorcycles, and now his life is much better. When we walked into Bai Maduojie's house, his wife was beating butter tea. The warm and fragrant tea not only filled the clean and tidy Tibetan earthen house, but also warmed the room a lot. The enthusiastic host heard that I was from Beijing and asked me to drink more bowls of his buttered tea. Qinghai province, as one of the five pilot provinces of ecological migration in China, started the project of "returning grazing to grassland" at the source of the Yellow River in 2004, and started the project at Tuotuo River at the source of the Yangtze River in August of that year. According to the plan, grazing will be banned here in the next 10 year. When I climbed up the high railway subgrade and looked at the newly-built railway, under the blue sky and white clouds, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was like a beautiful rainbow over the plateau, with straight rails across the wide Tuotuo River, like a godsend sword piercing the distance to the horizon. The builders also erected various monuments between the railway and the highway, including the first bridge at the source of the Yangtze River, the bridge at the source of the Yangtze River, the source of the Yangtze River and so on. I believe people will remember them in the future.