The 5,464-kilometre river, which supplies water to over 150 million people and irrigates 15% of the country's farmland, was once known as "China's sorrow" because of its flooding, but in recent years has occasionally run dry before reaching the sea.

 "The Yellow River used to be host to more than 150 species of fish, but a third of them are now extinct, including some precious ones," the People's Daily quoted an unnamed Agriculture Ministry official as saying.

Fishing has also dropped, falling 40% from an annual average of 700 tonnes in the past, the newspaper said.

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