The great river of highest elevation in China and in the world is located in Tibet Autonomous Region. It originates on the glaciers located at the northern side of the Himalayas in southwestern Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4,000 meters above sea level. The uppermost stream is call Maquanhe River (马泉河), which 268 kilometers in length. In ancient Tibetan language, Yalung Tsangpo has been called Yang Qia Bu Zang Bu, which means “water that descends from the highest peak”. The river has three branches for its origin, Gangdisi Range in the north; Qie Ma Rong Dong, the biggest water flow of the three, in the center; and the Himalayas in the south that has more water during summertime. The three branches joined to become the Maquanhe River. Snow mountains and crystal lakes look as if the Almighty on the giant green carpet lays them. This is a pasturing area with very sparse population, also the wild animals’ paradise.

The Yalung Tsangpo River (雅鲁藏布江) is like a giant silvery dragon lying along the southern part of Tibet, flowing along the towering Himalayas and entering the Indian soil. In India, it is called the Brahmaputra River. It meets the Ganges in Bangladesh and lastly into the Bengal Bay. With a total length about 2,840 kilometers and wide river valley area around 930,000 square kilometers, The Yalung Tsangpo River’s middle stream area is fertile and having moderate climate. The lower stream is flowing eastwards through the gaps between high mountains. It flows as the mountains turn. The sudden change of mountain path will make the river turns south and then southwestwards. The strange path of flow is called “horse’s hoof”, it is quite rare to see in the world. The Dihang Gorge here is one of the largest ones on our planet. The water often massive and powerful flows due to frequent heavy rains, therefore sources for hydropower are rich.