9 Facts About Yangtze River Delta

1. In 2018, the Yangtze River Delta had a GDP of approximately US$2.2 trillion, about the same size as Italy.

2. The Yangtze River Delta was the focus of many of the imperialist incursions into China in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, with Shanghai at the river's mouth becoming the main foreign commercial base.

3. The Yangtze River Delta is joined to navigable stretches of the Huang He and the Huai, Wei, and Hai rivers by the Grand Canal, which is further connected with the seaports of Hangzhou and Tianjin.

4. The Yangtze River Delta blocked travel, and crossing points like the First Bend of the Yangtze became strategic for both trade and conquest.

5. The Yangtze River Delta falls from an elevation of 5,200 meters to 2,500 meters in its first 600 miles.

6. Yangtze River Delta is responsible for 70 to 75 percent of China's floods.

7. Yangtze River Delta contains the most fertile soils in all of China.

8. The Yangtze River Delta became the first industrialized area in China.

9. In 2017, the Yangtze River Delta had a GDP of approximately US$1.5 trillion, about the same size as Russia.