The cities that the Yangtze River flows through are:

Yibin, Luzhou, Chongqing, Fuling, Wanzhou, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huangshi, Ezhou, Jiujiang, Anqing, Tongling, Wuhu, Nanjing, and Shanghai in Sichuan.

The Yangtze River originates from the southwest side of the Geladandong Peak of the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the "Roof of the World". The main stream flows through 11 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, including Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanghai, and flows into the East China Sea to the east of Chongming Island. It is about 6,300 km long, which is more than 800 km longer than the Yellow River (5,464 km). Among the world's major rivers, it is the third longest river in the world, second only to the Nile River in Africa and the Amazon River in South America, and is the longest river in Asia. However, the Nile River Basin spans 9 African countries, the Amazon River Basin spans 7 South American countries, and the Yangtze River is unique to China, with a basin area of ​​more than 1.8 million square kilometers, accounting for 1/5 of the country's area.

[Source]

The source of the Yangtze River is a wide geographical unit, which includes the vast area between Kunlun Mountain and Tanggula Mountain, about 400 kilometers long from east to west, about 300 kilometers wide from north to south, and a total area of ​​more than 100,000 square kilometers. The terrain in the area is gently undulating, with an average altitude of 4400-4700 meters, an average annual temperature below -4℃, low temperature, sparse vegetation, widespread perennial frozen soil, and simple animal species, mostly species unique to the plateau, including wild donkeys, white-lipped deer, wild yaks, snow leopards, Tibetan antelopes, brown bears, wolves, blue sheep, etc. The source of the Yangtze River is composed of the northern source Chumar River, the southern river Dangqu and the main source Tuotuo River. The Chumar River originates from the Kekexili Lake deep in the Kekexili Nature Reserve. It means "Red Water River" in Tibetan. It is about 515 kilometers long, with a small flow. It often stops flowing in summer and finally flows into the Tongtian River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. [River Basin Segmentation] 1. Tuotuo River, the source of the Yangtze River, has high mountains and dangerous banks, and the snow is tens of meters deep all year round. It is 374 kilometers long. 2. From Qukou to the mouth of the Baqu River in Yushu County, Qinghai, it is called Tongtian River, with a total length of 815 kilometers. The water is gentle, the river valley is wide, and there are many swamps, sufficient sunshine, dense grasslands, high peaks and deep snow on both sides, and the scenery is magnificent and pleasant. It is an important livestock breeding area in the Yangtze River Basin.

3. The section from the mouth of the Bagang River to the mouth of the Minjiang River in Yibin, Sichuan, is called the Jinsha River, with a total length of 2,308 kilometers, and is named after the gold it produces. In the book "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" written by Song Yingxing in the late Ming Dynasty, it is recorded that the Jinsha River (ancient name Lishui) loops for more than 500 kilometers and has produced gold for several years. The Jinsha River section has high mountains and deep valleys, turbulent water, and a large water surface gradient, with a total drop of about 3,000 meters. The precipitous Tiger Leaping Gorge has a river section of only 16 kilometers long, but the water surface drop is 200 meters, with an average drop of 12.5‰, which shows that the water resources are very rich.

4. The Minjiang River in Yibin to the Wusongkou of the Yangtze River is 2,803 kilometers long, of which Yibin to Yichang in Hubei is 1,030 kilometers long, also known as the Sichuan River, and Zhijiang in Hubei to Chenglingji in Hunan is 340 kilometers long, also known as the Jingjiang River, and the Jingjiang River is divided into the upper and lower Jingjiang Rivers. Upper Jingjiang River: 160 kilometers from Zhijiang to Ouchikou. Lower Jingjiang River: 180 kilometers from Ouchikou to Chenglingji in Hunan. 5. The section below Jiangsu is also called Yangtze River. The river below Jiangyin gradually widens and opens out in a trumpet shape toward the estuary. The water surface near Jiangyin is only one kilometer wide, while the river surface is 80 kilometers wide near the estuary. Some scholars believe that 6,000 years ago, the Yangtze River entered the sea roughly in Yangzhou and Zhenjiang. Due to the wide river surface, gentle slope, and the intersection of river currents and sea tides, a large amount of mud and sand was formed due to the slow flow rate and the condensation of seawater salt. The suspended sediment inside and outside the river estuary sank day by day, and the bedload on the riverbed was pushed outward year by year, so that the Yangtze River Delta was developed. Chongming Island at the mouth of the river was formed by the accumulation of Yangtze River mud and sand. The appearance of this island has only a history of more than 1,000 years. The Huangpu River at the southern end of Chongming Island is the last tributary of the Yangtze River.

[Branch Population Size]

The Yangtze River Basin has a population of about 400 million, accounting for 1/3 of the country, of which about 320 million are agricultural population. Of the total population in the basin, about 94% are Han; there are more than 50 ethnic minorities, more than 20 million people, of which more than 1 million are Tujia, Miao, Yi, Dong, Tibetan, Hui and other six ethnic groups. The ethnic minorities mainly live in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, western Sichuan, western Hunan and western Hubei.

The Yangtze River Basin is densely populated, with an average population density of more than 220 people/k㎡, especially in the Yangtze River Delta, Chengdu Plain and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, with a population density of 600~900 people/k㎡, and Shanghai has a population density of more than 4,600 people/k㎡, which is the most densely populated area in China.

References

360 Encyclopedia:

https://baike.so.com/doc/4581631-4793029.html