The Yangtze River flows through 11 provincial administrative regions, including Qinghai Province, Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, Chongqing City, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Jiangxi Province, Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, and flows into the East China Sea.

The Yangtze River originates from the Geladandong Snow Mountain, the main peak of the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The source of the Yangtze River is called Tuotuo River. The section of the river between the confluence of Tuotuo River and Dangqu River and Yushu in Qinghai Province is called Tongtian River. The section of the river that continues to flow down from Yushu to Yibin in Sichuan is called Jinsha River. The section of the river between Yibin and Yichang in Hubei Province is called Chuanjiang River. The section of the river between Zhicheng in Hubei Province and Chenglingji in Hunan Province is called Jingjiang River.

The characteristics of each section of the Yangtze River are different. The upper section of Tongtian River has an open valley, a wide and shallow riverbed, many sandbanks in the river, and a loose flow. The two banks are not high mountains, but relatively gentle hills. After passing the Chumar River estuary, the mountains on both sides gradually approach the river bank. The lower reaches of the Tongtian River are relatively straight, the river channel gradually stabilizes, the water flow gradient increases, the water is turbulent, and the mountains on both sides are getting higher, becoming a typical canyon river.

The Jinsha River flows through the northwest of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the southwestern Sichuan mountains, and ends at Yibin in the southwest of the Sichuan Basin where it joins the Minjiang River. It is 2,316 kilometers long and has a drainage area of ​​340,000 square kilometers. As it flows through the Hengduan Mountain area with high mountains and deep valleys, the water flows rapidly and rushes straight down to the southeast. It suddenly turns to the northeast near Shigu, Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, forming the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge. The height difference between the mountains on both sides of Tiger Leaping Gorge and the river surface is 2,500-3,500 meters, making it one of the deepest canyons in the world. The Jinsha River has a narrow riverbed and steep banks, forming a "V"-shaped riverbed. It is characterized by "high, deep, narrow, winding and steep", and is a typical high mountain and deep valley river. The water volume is abundant and stable, with little interannual variation.

The Sichuan River refers to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River between Yibin City, Sichuan Province and Yichang City, Hubei Province. It is named because most of it flows through the Sichuan Basin. It is also called Shu River. The Sichuan River is famous for its canyons from Fengjie to Yichang, so it is also called the Gorge River. It is 1,033 kilometers long. The Sichuan River passes through the famous Three Gorges, with mountains on both sides and turbulent water. The river near Jiangjin is in the shape of a "Ji" character, also known as the "Ji" River. The Sichuan River has many tributaries, most of which originate from plateau mountains and flow through deep mountain canyons. The drop is huge and the water volume is abundant. The natural drop of the Sichuan River is 198 meters, and the main stream hydropower resources reach 24.67 million kilowatts.

After the Yangtze River leaves the Three Gorges and enters the middle reaches in Yichang, it passes through the river valleys of Huya Mountain and Jingmen Mountain, which face each other on the Jiajiang River, and suddenly becomes open. The two banks are no longer "the sound of monkeys crying incessantly", but enter a vast plain where "the land of Chu is as vast as the horizon and the vast expanse of land is connected". Since the Yangtze River flows through the ancient Jingzhou area after entering the plain, this section of the river is generally called the Jingjiang River. The Jingjiang River runs from Zhicheng, Hubei to Chenglingfan, the outlet of Dongting Lake in Hunan, with a total length of 423 kilometers. The Jingjiang River is a typical meandering river. The 240-kilometer-long embankment in the lower section of the Jingjiang River is actually only 80 kilometers in a straight line. The river water makes 16 big bends here, so there is a saying that it is "nine bends and winding intestines". The south bank of the Jingjiang River is the Dongting Lake Plain, and the north bank is the Jianghan Plain, both of which are very low in terrain.