CGTN will launch "The Great Rivers of China" series, introducing the seven major water systems in China from the perspectives of natural geography, local customs, and significance to the social and economic development of the regions along their routes. The Yellow, Yangtze, Songhua, Haihe, Huaihe, Pearl and Lancang rivers will be featured.

Running 6,300 kilometers, the Yangtze River is the longest river in both China and Asia and the third longest river in the world. In China, it is referred to as Chang Jiang, literally meaning "long river."

It begins its journey in the glacial meltwaters of the Tanggula Mountains in Tibet and flows through and borders 10 provinces and autonomous regions before emptying itself into the East China Sea near Shanghai.

The Yangtze River plays a central role in Chinese agriculture, industry and travel. It is the country's primary waterway, and over 40 percent of China's population lives in its basin, which accounts for about one-fifth of the country's total land area. In 2019, the gross domestic product (GDP) generated in the Yangtze River Basin approached 46 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion), accounting for 46.2 percent of the country's GDP. 

With the unveiling of a blueprint for China's development in the next 15 years, different regions are gearing up for their new roles in the country's journey toward modernization. Provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze River have been given important roles to foster an innovation-driven, green development model for the world's second-largest economy.

The Three Gorges Dam, spanning the Yangtze River and completed in May 2006, is the world's largest hydropower project. The project has also played a key role in flood control along the Yangtze River Basin, significantly reducing flood peaks and greatly easing flood-control pressure in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.