Chinese rivers seen from space

The Shenzhou-18 crew members on board China’s orbiting space station Tiangong recently shared their views from space of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, regarded as the two “mother rivers” of the Chinese nation.

Ye Guangfu, commander of the Shenzhou-18 crewed spaceflight mission, first shared the views of the Yangtze River, China’s longest waterway and the world’s third-longest river, sustaining a number of the country’s economic powerhouses, megacities and major rice-producing areas.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt along the golden waterway covers nine provinces and two municipalities, accounting for more than 40 percent of the country’s population and economic aggregate.In recent years, China has strengthened joint environmental protection along the river to conserve biodiversity.