This is because there is a mysterious ancient rift hidden in the east of my country, which is little known to the public. It has a long history and runs through Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. The Yangtze River dried up twice in the same section in the south of this ancient rift.

The Yangtze River flows eastward, but the water in Taixing City suddenly goes south, with a length of more than 40 kilometers. Going north along this section of the river, Gaoyou Lake, Baima Lake, Hongze Lake, Chengzi Lake, and Luoma Lake are like bright pearls shining in the land of northern Jiangsu. Hongze Lake is the fourth largest freshwater lake in my country, with an area of ​​1,577 square kilometers and was formed millions of years ago. However, there is an ancient salt lake of the same size lurking at the bottom of the lake: the ancient salt lake was formed about 67 million years ago, and there is a 135-meter-thick rock salt layer at the bottom of the lake. The burial depth of the mineral layer exceeds 2,300 meters, and most of it is covered by the lake water today. The ancient salt lake bed is miraculously embedded in the bottom of this ancient rift valley.

From the abnormal reactions of some animals, there is such a strange phenomenon in Daming Lake, Jinan City, Shandong Province and a village in Xuzhuang Township, Zaozhuang City. The toads in a pond in the village can only bulge their bellies but cannot make any sound. However, as long as they change their environment and run to another pond, they can show their singing skills and keep chirping. The toads that grow elsewhere become "dumb" when they arrive in this pond. Therefore, people named this village Dumb Wang Village, and many people come here every year to watch this strange phenomenon.

The Confucius Mansion and Confucius Forest, located between Daming Lake and Dumb Wang Village, Xuzhuang Township, is a national key cultural relic protection unit and a famous tourist attraction. There are towering ancient trees here, and thousands of trees form shades, but not a single bird or crow is seen roosting. The ground is overgrown with weeds, but not a single snake is seen. In the woods around the Confucius Forest, birds and crows fly everywhere, and various snakes often appear in the surrounding grass.

Through research, scientists have found that Xu Daming Lake is slightly to the east, and the Confucius Mansion and Confucius Forest and Yabawang Village in Xuzhuang Township, Zaozhuang City, are just in the area where the Yangtze River is cut off and the pearl-like lakes in northern Jiangsu extend northward. Is this a coincidence? No, there is an intrinsic connection between them, that is, the huge ancient rift valley that runs through the two provinces. It is this mysterious ancient rift valley that controls the dry section of the river, and the ancient salt lake is formed because of it. It also controls the direction of the distribution of a string of lakes.

Scientists have also discovered that there are large and small crisscrossing underground rivers deep underground. The energy radiated by underground water veins is several times stronger than the intensity of cosmic rays. It can make people dizzy and confused, so that they lose control, and also cause abnormal reactions in some animals: frogs become dumb, snakes have restricted areas, and birds and crows do not enter individual woods.

As this Eastern Rift Valley continues to be known to the world, I believe that more strange landscapes will be discovered. With the development of science and technology, people will definitely completely unveil the mystery of the Eastern Ancient Rift Valley in the near future.

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 east of Chongming Island. It is about 6,300 km long, more than 800 km longer than the Yellow River (5,464 km). Among the world's major rivers, it is only second to the Nile River in Africa and the Amazon River in South America, ranking third in the world. 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.

The Yangtze River runs from west to east across central China. Hundreds of tributaries converge from north to south, extending to parts of eight provinces and autonomous regions, including Guizhou, Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian. The basin area is 1.8 million square kilometers, accounting for about 20% of China's total land area. Most of the water from the Huaihe River also flows into the Yangtze River through the Grand Canal.

The Yangtze River mainstream is above Yichang, which is 4,504 kilometers long and has a basin area of ​​1 million square kilometers. Among them, the section from Zhimen to Yibin is called Jinsha River, which is 3,464 kilometers long. The section from Yibin to Yichang is commonly known as Sichuan River, which is 1,040 kilometers long. The middle reaches from Yichang to Hukou are 955 kilometers long and have a basin area of ​​680,000 square kilometers. The lower reaches from Hukou to the estuary are 938 kilometers long and have a basin area of ​​120,000 square kilometers.