Mississippi and Yangtze River (7A_基础_P73)

The Mississippi is the major river system in the United States.The Yangtze River is China's longest river.
Although a world apart, the two waterways share conservation concerns that provide a cultural bridge between students in the United States and China, as well as from around the world.
The Mississippi flows almost 3, 800 kilometres from a small lake in Minnesota, gathering the waters of 250 other rivers and streams before reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
In mid-May, as spring flowers began to open, about 4l students from a dozen colleges, mostly in the Midwest, explored a section of the river in Wisconsin and lowa, to learn about the environmentand each other.
The students from the U.S., China and around the world, came to join the River Spirit Exchange program.
The cross-cultural educational experience set up by the University of Wisconsin, Madison-based Environment and Public Health Network for Chinese Students focuses on the Mississippi and China'slongest river, the Yangtze River.
This three-day get-together featured story-telling, hiking, camping and canoeing, all part of alarger lesson about conservation projects that can be used on both the Yangtze River and the
Mississippi While the students learned about the problems challenging the two rivers, Jeb Barzen, a wildlife biologist, explained they should also learn about the importance of bridging each other's cultures President of the Environment and Public Health Network for Chinese Students, Xiaojun Lu, saidthe Mississippi and the Yangtze River are uniting these students from opposite ends of the earth. Organizers say the success and spirit of this first gathering of students will lead to other trips,including one down the Yangtze River.