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 in Hubei Province. Here, it is characterized by the rapid water and numbers of shoals. From Fengjie in Chongqing to Yichang, Hubei, there is the famous Three Gorges of Yangtze River winding about 124 miles. Also, the Three Gorges Dam Project is located here.

　　The middle reaches of the Yangtze River is from Yinchang to Hukou in Jiangxi Province. The section has wide, winding water courses and slow current. 576 miles long, this section takes 14.7% of the total river and forms many lakes. Two big water systems - Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake systems are formed here.

　　The lower reach starts from Hukou, Jiangxi Province. The river in this section is deep and wide. The river in Yangzhou and Zhenjiang is called Yangtze River because there is Yangtze County during this section. Many sandbanks are formed in the lower reaches because of the deposition of sand, especially near the mouth of paragraph. Among these sandbanks Chongming Island is the largest one.