Scientific Expedition to River Sources StartsA 27-member team left Beijng Tuesday, to start their scientific expedition to the sources of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang Rivers.The 27 people come from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the State Forestry Administration and the China Central Television. They will launch a series of activities including the establishment of an information system on the protection zones at the sources of the three rivers, scientific exploration, and drafting plans for building nature reserves at the sources of the three rivers. The origins of the three Rivers are all in Qinghai Province, northwest China. Mu Dongsheng, vice governor of the province, stressed at today' s ceremony the important value of the expedition in terms of protecting the local environment and guaranteeing ecological safety for people in the areas along the middle and lower reaches of the rivers. The 6,300-km Yangtze River, the longest in China, flows through nine provinces, an autonomous region and Shanghai Municipality, where it empties into the East China Sea. The Yellow River, China's second largest, traverses seven provinces, two autonomous regions and empties into the Bohai Sea, in Shandong Province, east China. The Lancang River rises from Qinhai-Tibet Plateau, flows into Yunnan Province where it joins the Mekong River. |
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