A civilization that grew up thousands of years ago quite separately from the rest of the world – this is probably an ideal description of the great Chinese Civilization.
There are three great river valleys in China. They are the Hwang- Ho or Yellow River, the Yangtze, and the Hsi. Ancient Chinese Civilization emerged more than 3000 years ago in the Yellow River valley. From there it extended southwards gradually. It had reached the Yangtze valley by the 6th century BC. Hence, the Hwang- Ho or Yellow River is also known as the mother river of China.
The valley of the Yellow River was very fertile. For thousands of years, the Chinese grew millet, rice and wheat there. They also domesticated cattle, dogs, and sheep.
The Shang, the earliest dynasty of China, built their major cities like Erlitou, Zhengzhou and Anyang in the Yellow River valley. Anyang was their capital city. Luoyang, the capital city of the Zhou dynasty, who took over the power from the Shang, also was in the plains of Yellow River.
The Yellow River helped farmers with water to irrigate their crops. And, it became the centre of social life. In short, Chinese civilization was a gift of the Yellow River.