China's River Systems

The Huang He (Yellow River)

• the second-longest river in China
• the sixth-longest in the world at 5,464 kilometers (3,398 mi)
• flows through nine provinces of China and empties into the Bohai Sea
• starts in Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China
• called "the cradle of Chinese civilization"

The Chang Jiang (Yang Tze River)

• about 6,385 km long (3915 mi)
• flows from its source in Qinghai Province, eastwards into the East China Sea at Shanghai
• considered a dividing line between North and South China contains the Three Gorge
  

The Xi Jiang (Pearl River)

• Xi Jiang ("the West River"), the Bei Jiang ("the North River"), and the Dong Jiang ("the East River")
• flows through the majority of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou Provinces
• thought to be one of the world's most polluted waterways