The Yangtze River takes an important part in Chinese history. Traces of human activity in the area can be found as far as 2 million years ago. In the Spring and Autumn Period of China, Ba and Shu tribes lived in the western part of the river, what are now the provinces of Sichuan, Chongqing, and western Hubei. The Chu settled in the central part of river, corresponding to today's Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and southern Anhui provinces. Wu and Yue were located in the eastern part of the river, now Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

The Yangtze River covers three major reaches, namely the upper, middle and lower reaches. The upper reach refers to the section above the Yichang City, Hubei Province. It is characterized by the rapid water and numbers of shoals. From Fengjie in Chongqing to Yichang, there is the famous Three Gorges winding about 124 miles. The middle reaches is from Yinchang to Hukou in Jiangxi Province and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River starts from Hukou.