The Yellow River, China's second longest river, runs eastward from Qinghai through nine provinces and autonomous regions before emptying itself into the Bohai Sea in Shandong. The 5,464 km long waterway feeds about 12 percent of China's population, irrigates 17 percent of its arable land, and supplies water to over 50 cities. The river is at the center of thousands of years of Chinese history, hence its nicknames as the "Cradle of Chinese Civilization" and "Mother River." Over the past decade, conservation efforts have led to improvements in the ecology of the Yellow River basin. As a result, it's helped areas that are typically affected by sandstorms, floods, and soil salinity to shake off poverty.