A post office named after the Yangtze, China's longest waterway, opened Saturday in a small town at the source of the river in Qinghai Province.

"Yangtze No. 1," in Tanggula township, Golmud City, is the first of a planned cluster of 11 post offices in all 11 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions along the river, said Yang Xin, president of Green River, a non-governmental environmental protection agency.

Tanggula township, at an altitude of 4,500 meters, is the first town the river flows by after it exits the glaciers of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Yang said Yangtze No.1 is where the Yangtze River originates, while Yangtze No. 11 will be located in Shanghai, where the river flows into the sea.

"Yangtze No.1 is not just an ordinary postal service," said Wang Shuqiao, general manager of the Golmud branch of China Post. "It also exhibits essence of Chinese culture along the Yangtze River, particularly at its source in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau."

The post office is built of energy-saving materials and powered by solar energy. Tourists can stop by, send post cards, buy souvenirs, have a drink and recharge their smart phones, said Wang.

The Yangtze basin covers 1.8 million square kilometers. The river links major cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing. "The Yangtze post offices are designed to promote data sharing and provide an integrated service along the 6,300-km river," said Yang.