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Home → China Travel Guide → Qinghai Travel Guide → Tuotuo River

Tuotuo River

The Tuotuo River is the source of the Yangtze River which originates from the glaciers of the Jianggendiru Snow Mountains located at the southwestern side of the highest Geladandong Peak in the Tanggula Mountain Range. The altitude of the end of the glaciers is nearly 5,500 meters.

There are many huge snow mountains, including 20 snow-covered peaks whose altitudes are more than 6,000 meters. The permanent snow line is up to 5,800 meters, and there are 40 modern glaciers on those peaks. The cloud-kissing mountains covered with ice and snow and the clear and bright glaciers are the headwaters of the Yangtze River. The melt water of the glaciers becomes the source of the Tuotuo River.

Snow cocks inhabits in groups in Cuiying Mountain that is covered with white snow all year round. But at the hillside and the foot of Cuiying Mountain, there is a prairie stretching to the horizon. Various rare flowers and grasses are growing in the prairie, and there are also some wild snow leopards, Tibetan antelopes, wild donkeys and wild yaks, etc.
The source of the Yangtze River is an ecological nature reserve at state level. The Monument for Environmental Protection was established on June 5, 1999 at the source of the Yangtze River.

The written Chinese characters that mean source of the Yangtze River by former president Jiang Zemin are on the front side of the monument, showing the resolution of the Chinese government to beef up environmental protection.

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