The Yangtze River was called "Jiang" or "Big River" in ancient my country. In different regions, there are different names. People have been searching for its source since a long time ago, but due to various conditions at the time, they have never been able to figure it out. my country's famous ancient book "Shang Shu. Yu Gong" once regarded the Jialing River and Minjiang River originating from Minshan as the headwaters of the Yangtze River. Therefore, there are sayings that "Minshan guides the river" and "the river originates from Min".
Until the Ming Dynasty, in 1641 AD, the famous Chinese geographer Xu Xiake went up the Jinsha River and conducted field investigations in Sichuan, Qinghai and other places. He found that the Jinsha River was the upper source of the Yangtze River and wrote " The book "An Examination of the Source of the Yangtze River" has overturned the past erroneous sayings that "Minshan leads the river" and "the river originates from Min", and greatly advances the origin of the Yangtze River a step forward. But he failed to continue tracing up the Jinsha River, nor did he find the true source of the Yangtze River. By the Qing Dynasty, that is, the mid-17th century, people had a better understanding of the water system of the upper source of the Yangtze River. On the maps drawn at that time, the Tongtian River, Mulu Wusu and other rivers had been drawn, but the understanding of the source of the Yangtze River was still relatively unclear. Vague. In 1720 AD, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty sent a special envoy to explore the upper source of the Yellow River. At the same time, he also inspected the upper reaches of the Tongtian River. Seeing that there are many rivers at the southern foot of Bayan Har Mountain, as dense as a spider web, it is impossible to determine which river is the real source, so I can only say in general: "The source of the river is like a broom, and it is spread widely."
The true understanding of the source of the Yangtze River was only after the founding of New China. In August 1956, the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Commission organized manpower to conduct field surveys in Qumalai and other places at the source of the Yangtze River. It was discovered that the Yangtze River is divided into two sources: north and south: south The source is the Mulu Wusu River, which originates from the northern foothills of Tanggula Mountain, and the northern source is the Chumar River, which originates from the southern foothills of Hoh Xil Mountain. Although it is a big step forward than in the past, its true origin has not yet been found. In 1977, an expedition team organized by the Yangtze River Basin Planning Office and other units visited the source area of ??the Yangtze River again and found that the real source of the Yangtze River was under the Geladandong Ice Peak at the northern foot of the Tanggula Mountains in Qinghai Province. It's the Tuotuo River. This is the first time in history that the true origin of the Yangtze River has been identified.
On the north and south sides of Jianggendiru Snow Mountain (6548 meters above sea level) on the southwest side of the Geladandong Snow Mountain Group, there are two modern valley glaciers surrounding it in a pincer shape. The glacier on the south side is 12.8 kilometers long, and the glacier tongue is 8.5 kilometers long and 1.7 kilometers wide. The glacier on the north side is 10.3 kilometers long, and the glacier tongue is 6 kilometers long and 1.4 kilometers wide. The largest glacier on the south side is the source of the Yangtze River.
The starting point of the glacier on the south side of Jianggendiru is located at 91°07' east longitude and 33°28' north latitude, with an altitude of 6543 meters. It belongs to the Tanggula Mountains in the Golmud City area. It has the highest starting point among the world's major rivers. . The snowline elevation is about 5820 meters, and the end of the glacier tongue is 5400 meters above sea level. The two sides and ends of the glacier tongue are close to the exposed gravel area, absorbing more heat and melting violently. The trickle overflows between the gravel, forming the original water source for the surging Yangtze River. The melted water from the glaciers on the north and south sides of Jiang Gendi flows northwest along two broad gravel-covered valleys for three to four kilometers. They each break away from the front moraine hills, then merge and turn north. At this time, the river gradually widened and continued to flow for several kilometers, converging with the melted glacier water originating from the southeastern part of the Gaqiadi Rugang Snow Mountains at the foot of Badong Mountain. After the east and west branches merge, it is called Naqinqu. The Gaqiadi Rugang Snow Mountain Group is located to the west of the Geladandong Snow Mountain Group. It is about 23 kilometers long from north to south and 10 to 12 kilometers wide from east to west. The main peak is 6573 meters above sea level. There are 13 snow peaks above 6000 meters above sea level and 20 snow peaks around it. The remaining modern glaciers cover an area of ??about 190 square kilometers. Among them, the meltwater covering an area of ??about 96 square kilometers in the eastern part of the Snow Mountain Group supplies the source of the Yangtze River.