China abounds in rivers. More than 1,500 rivers each drain 1,000 sq km or larger areas. Most of the large rivers have their source on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and drop greatly from the source to the mouths. As a result, China is rich in water-power resources, leading the world in hydropower potential, with reserves of 680 million kw.

China’s rivers can be categorized as exterior and interior systems. The exterior rivers are those that empty into the oceans. The catchment area for them accounts for 64 percent of the country’s total land area. The Yangtze, Yellow, Heilong, Pearl, Liaohe, Haihe and Huaihe rivers flow east, and empty into the Pacific Ocean. The Yarlungzangbo River in Tibet, which flows first east and then south into the Indian Ocean, boasts the Yarlungzangbo Grand Canyon, the largest canyon in the world, 504.6 km long and 6,009 m deep. The Ertix River flows north from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the Arctic Ocean. The interior rivers are those that flow into inland lakes or disappear into deserts or salt marshes. The catchment area for them makes up about 36 percent of China’s total land area. The Tarim River in southern Xinjiang is China’s longest interior river at 2,179 km long.

The Yangtze, 6,300 km long, is the largest river in China, and the third largest in the world, next only to the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. The Yangtze links west and east China, its navigation benefiting from excellent natural channels. The upper section of the Yangtze River passes through high mountains and deep valleys. The middle and lower Yangtze River areas have a warm and humid climate, plentiful rainfall and fertile soil, making them important agricultural regions. The Yellow River, one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization, is the second largest river in China with a length of 5,464 km. It has lush pasturelands along its banks and abundant mineral deposits. The Heilong River is a large river in north China with a total length of 4,350 km, of which, 3,101 km are in China. The Pearl (Zhujiang) River, 2,214 km long, is a large river in south China. In addition, China has a famous man-made river, the Grand Canal, running from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province in the south. Work first began on the Grand Canal as early as in the fifth century B.C. It links five major rivers: the Haihe, Yellow, Huaihe, Yangtze and Qiantang. With a total length of 1,801 km, the Grand Canal is the longest as well as the oldest man-made waterway in the world.

Most of the numerous lakes in the Chinese territory can be found on the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Freshwater lakes mostly lie in the former area, such as Poyang, Dongting, Taihu, and Hongze; while in the latter are saltwater lakes, such as Qinghai Lake, Nam Co and Siling Co. Poyang Lake, in the north of Jiangxi Province and with an area of 3,583 sq km, is the largest freshwater lake and Qinghai Lake, in northeast Qinghai Province and with an area of 4,583 sq km, is the largest saltwater lake.