East Asia's Three Major Rivers: Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong

The Triple Arteries

1. Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) – 6,300 km; Asia's longest, world's 3rd. Flows entirely in China; drains 1/5 of its land; Three Gorges Dam; Shanghai estuary.
2. Yellow River (Huang He) – 5,464 km; China's 2nd longest. Named for massive loess sediment load; "China's Sorrow" for historic floods; cradle of Chinese civilization.
3. Mekong River (Lancang Jiang) – 4,909 km; Southeast Asia's lifeline. Rises in Tibetan Plateau; traverses China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam; Tonle Sap flood pulse; delta rice bowl.

Shared Challenges

Dams, pollution, overfishing, climate change, and transboundary governance tensions threaten all three basins.