Certain parts of the river's natural landscape are overwhelmingly dramatic and relatively unspoilt, and tiny villages, terraced fields, spectacular canyons, striking limestone cliffs and beautiful countryside line its banks. But vast stretches are more typical of the ceaseless bustle of Chinese towns,lined with houses, docks, trading posts, enormous cranes and noisy factories.
The Yangtzi River Dolphin, or baiji, was unknown to scientists in the rest of the world until a visiting American killed one in 1914 and sold it to the Smithsonian Institution. Although it turned out to be a new species and genus of river dolphin it received surprisingly little scientific attention until the 1970s.
The Chinese people, of course, have been aware of the baiji's existance for centuries and fishermen living along the banks of the Yangtze have many strange and interesting stories to tell about it. Some say that the baiji makes peculiar roaring sounds at night; others claim it can start a severe storm and is the bearer of bad omens. It is thought by many to be the reincarnation of a drowned princess, while some fishermen believe that ill fortune descends upon anyone who dares to molest it. Overall, the local beliefs and customs concerning the baiji are generally harmless and may even have helped to protect it in the past.
Unfortunately, a survey of the river habitats in 2007 resulted in declaring the Baiji likely extinct.