The Yangtze River (English pronunciation: /ˈjæŋtsi/ or /ˈjɑːŋtsi/), (Chinese: 长江, Cháng Jiāng), known in China as the Chang Jiang or the Yangzi, is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world. It flows for 6,300 kilometers (3,915 mi) from the glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. The river is the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It drains one-fifth of the land area of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its river basin is home to one-third of the country's population.