A look at major rivers in East and Southeast Asia.

1. East & Southeast Asia
Water

2. Rivers play a central role in the lives of millions of people in East and
Southeast Asia. They provide fish, fresh water, fertile silt,
transportation, recreation, and many other essential functions. Rivers and
their catchments are the lifeblood of the region.
Rivers
The Mekong River The Huang He (Yellow) River The Yangtze River

3. ● The Mekong River is the 12th longest river
in the world. It is about 2,700 miles long.
● Its source is the Lasagongma Spring in
Mount Guozongmucha in the Tibetan
Plateau, and its mouth is the Mekong Delta
in Vietnam emptying into the South China
Sea.
● The Mekong River flows through China,
Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and
Myanmar.
● About 60 million people live in the Mekong
River basin.
The Mekong River

4. ● The Mekong River is known by many names. It
is called Lancang Jiang (meaning Turbulent
River) by the Chinese, Mae Nam Kong (meaning
Mother Water) by the Lao and Thai, and Cuu
Long (meaning Nine Dragons) by the
Vietnamese.
● The Irrawaddy Dolphin, an endangered species,
can be found in the Mekong River, and it is also
home to the giant river carp (often over a
metre long), the Mekong Freshwater Stingray,
the smooth-coated otter and the Siamese
Crocodile.
The Mekong River

5. ● Cambodians heavily rely on the Mekong
River for their food supply and livelihood.
Almost 80% of the protein intake of
Cambodia is dependent on the fish
caught from the Mekong River.
● The Vietnamese people rely on the
Mekong River for almost half the water
used to irrigate their crops.
● The Mekong River serves as a significant
transport channel for the Vietnamese
people. It is also a trading centre; as the
Vietnamese hold their floating markets
on the river.
The Mekong River
Cai Rang Floating Market in
Vietnam

6. ● Construction of the Myanmar-Laos Friendship
Bridge began in 2013 and there are several
Thai-Lao Friendship Bridges. These bridges
span the Mekong River in places where the
river acts as an international border.
● Laos is planning on building a hydroelectric
dam on the Mekong River. This has been
highly controversial due to its possible effect
on the rivers ecosystems.
● China’s construction of dams and a navigation
channel along the upper reaches of the
Mekong threatens this complex ecosystem.
Seven megadams have already been built,
and over 20 more are under construction or
being planned in Yunnan, Tibet and Qinghai.
The Mekong River

7. ● The scheme will drastically change the river’s natural flood-drought cycle and
block the transport of sediment, affecting ecosystems and the livelihoods of
millions living downstream in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Impacts to water levels and fisheries have already been recorded along the Thai-
Lao border.
● China's dam construction on the Upper Mekong has already caused downstream
impacts, especially along the Thai-Lao border where communities have suffered
declining fisheries and changing water levels that have seriously affected their
livelihoods.
● By changing the river's hydrology, blocking fish migration and affecting the river's
ecology, the construction of dams on the Lower Mekong mainstream will have
repercussions throughout the entire basin.
Consequences

8. ● Known as the mother river by all the
Chinese people.
● The Yellow River is the second largest
in China.
● The Yellow River originates from the
northern foot of Kunlun Mountains in
Qinghai Province.
● It flows 3,395 miles easterly across
nine provinces before emptying into
the Bohai Sea.
● It has more than 40 tributaries.
The Huang He (Yellow River)

9. ● The river is called yellow because it
carries tons of fine, yellow-brown
soil called loess.
● Loess blows in from deserts (Gobi) in
western China.
● The Huang He has the largest silt
content in the world.
● When deposited, the rich soil--along
with the rivers water-- makes the
North China Plain a major wheat
growing area.
The Huang He (Yellow River)

10. ● It is agreed upon by almost all the
Chinese people that the Yellow River is
the cradle of Chinese civilization and
the spiritual home of the Chinese
people.
● Throughout history the Huang He has
regularly flooded the land, destroying
homes, and drowning thousands of
people.
● As a result the Chinese have called the
Huang He “China’s Sorrow.”
The Huang He (Yellow River)

11. ● The second and third deadliest floods in human
history occurred along China's Yellow River
(Huang He), in 1887 and 1938 respectively. Loss
of life for the 1887 flood was estimated at
around 900,000. The flood happened after heavy
rainfall put overwhelming stress on the dikes
built to contain the river's flow.
● The Yellow River flood of 1938 had a far more
sinister and tragic cause as it was purposeful. In
an attempt to halt invading Japanese forces, the
Nationalist government in central China opened
the dikes along the river. The ensuing flood
destroyed thousands of small villages and
drowned an estimated 800,000 people. It has
been called the "largest act of environmental
warfare in history."
Yellow River Floods

12. ● The Yangtze River is the largest
in China and the third longest
in the world.
● The Yangtze River originates
in Geladaindong, the highest
peak of the Tanggulashan
Mountains.
● It flows 3,915 miles eastward traversing 11provinces before
emptying into the East China Sea.
● The Yangtze water network covers about 694,983 square
miles, accounting for 18.8% of the land area in China.
● Its annual average runoff stands at 2.52 Trillion gallons,
accounting for 52 percent of the national total.
The Yangtze

13. ● The river flows easterly emptying
into the East China Sea at the port
city of Shanghai.
● Yangtze River Basin is a big granary
of China. The grain it produces
covers a half of the whole nation, of
which the rice accounts for 70% in
the total.
● Other crops such as cotton, barley,
wheat, maize and bean are also
produced in the area.
The Yangtze (Chang Jiang)

14. ● Same as the Yellow River, Yangtze River
is also the cradle of Chinese civilization.
It is endowed with long history and
abundant cultural relics.
● For thousands of years, people have used
the river for water, irrigation, sanitation,
transportation, industry, boundary-
marking and war.
● Human activity has been verified in the
Three Gorges area as far back as 27,000
years ago, and by the 5th millennium BC,
the lower Yangtze was a major
population center occupied by the
Hemudu and Majiabang cultures
The Yangtze (Chang Jiang)
Majiabang-Songze culture (4000B.C.-2685B.C.)
Gray pottery Yi with pig head shape

15. ● The Han River is a major river in
South Korea.
● The Han River and its surrounding
area have played an important role in
Korean history. The Three Kingdoms
of Korea strove to take control of this
land, where the river was used as a
trade route to China (via the Yellow
Sea).
● The river is no longer actively used
for navigation, because its estuary is
located at the borders of the two
Koreas, barred for entrance by any
civilian.
Han River (Korea)

16. ● The international name for the body
of water which is bordered by
Japan, North Korea, Russia, and
South Korea is disputed.
● In 1992, objections to the name Sea
of Japan were first raised by North
Korea and South Korea.
● The International Hydrographic
Organization, the international
governing body for the naming of
bodies of water around the world, in
2012 decided not to change the
current single name "Sea of Japan."
East Sea/Sea of Japan

17. ● The Japanese government supports the
use of the name "Sea of Japan."
● South Korea supports the name "East
Sea."
● North Korea supports the name "East Sea
of Korea."
● Currently, most international maps and
documents use either the name Sea of
Japan (or equivalent translation) by
itself, or include both the name Sea of
Japan and East Sea, often with East Sea
listed in parentheses or otherwise
marked as a secondary name.
East Sea/Sea of Japan