The source area is dotted with glaciers, snow-capped mountains, lakes and rivers, swamps and wetlands. "Climate change will have a profound impact on watershed runoff, sediment, biodiversity and water circulation systems," says Zhao Liangyuan, deputy director of the Institute of Water Environment at the Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute.

After many years of scientific examination, he has handed over a rich answer sheet. For the first time, the fish winter grounds in the river has been discovered in the source of the Yangtze River. The current status of the water environment and the temporal and spatial distribution of water quality of the main rivers and lakes in the source area are preliminarily mastered; the hydrochemical characteristics and controlling factors of the main rivers and lakes are revealed.