Introduction

One of Ancient China's most well-known physical features is its rivers. They are important to China because many Chinese civilisations developed along the rivers and are the birthplaces of the Chinese culture. Without the rivers, the civilisations wouldn't have water to drink, water to feed crops and the fields, water for everyday use such as washing and they wouldn't have other resources that the rivers provided. The Shang also controlled other communities such as YiFang, which was located near the Huai River.

The Shang Dynasty first developed along the Western section of the Yellow River, located near what is now commonly known as Chang'an or Xi'an and the Wei River which are both located in Northern China.

In the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BCE), the main rivers were the Wei River in Shaanxi and the Yellow River valleys as well as parts of the Yangtze River and the Han River system. In the Eastern Zhou period, they migrated south to the Yangtze River and to the Eastern section of the Yellow River.

The Wei River

The Yangtze River

The Yellow River

BY TIFFANY HONG

The Han River

The Huai River