China River Maps: Yangtze River Map, Yellow River Map…

China is one of the countries with the most significant number of rivers. Thanks to the ancient and great rivers, China has a brilliant culture and is honored as one of the four great ancient civilizations worldwide. Among the thousands of rivers in China, the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Pearl River are three major ones. For your better understanding of China's major rivers and to learn more about the beautiful Yangtze River, we offer updated 2024 China River Maps for reference.

Major River Systems on the China Map

China Map of 7 Major River System

China has 7 major river systems, including the Yangtze River system, Yellow River system, Pearl River system, Huaihe River system (淮河水系), Haihe River system (海河水系), Liao River system (辽河水系) and Songhua River (松花江水系) system.

Yangtze River

2024 Yangtze River Map

Yangtze River (长江) is the longest river in China and Asia, with a total length of about 6,403km (3,978.63 miles). It flows from the Tibet Plateau and runs through Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hubei, Huban, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu before emptying into the East China Sea near Shanghai.

The Yangtze region is considered the cradle of ancient Chinese civilization, with tons of old stories and plenty of ancient temples and pagodas to explore. Plus, there are the spectacular landscapes with misty mountains, sheer gorges, lush forests, and, of course, the engineering marvel - Three Gorges Dam. It comes as no surprise the Yangtze River has always been on the list of China travel.

Day 1~3

Shanghai

Day 3~7

Yangtze River Cruise

Day 7

Chongqing

Day 8~9

Lijiang

Day 9~11

Shangri-La

Day 11~12

Kunming

Day 13~14

Xian

Day 15~17

Beijing

17 Days Best China with Yangtze Cruise & Yunnan Tour

— Travel the Yangtze River from sea to source

• Day 1~3 - Shanghai (The Bund, Yu Garden……)
• Day 3~7 - Yangtze River Cruise (Yichang to Chongqing)
• Day 7 - Chongqing (Ciqikou Ancient Town, Giant Panda)
• Day 8~12 - Yunnan (Lijiang, Shangri-La, Yunnan)
• Day 13~14 - Xian (Terracotta Warriors, Muslim Quarter……)
• Day 15~17 - Beijing (The Forbidden City, The Great Wall……)

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If your vacation time is limited, then we highly recommend taking a luxury ship to cruise the best part of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges. During the voyage, you will enjoy a picturesque scenery, top-level vacation packages, stunning historical relics and masterpiece of engineering constructions. Such a fantastic ship journey takes about 4~5 days. 

Day 1

Chongqing Embarkation

Day 2

Fengdu/Zhongxian

Day 3 (forenoon)

Fengjie

Day 3 (afternoon)

Wu County

Day 4

Zigui County/Yichang

4 Days Three Gorges Cruise Tour (Chongqing to Yichang)

— Appreciate the essence part of Yangtze River

• Day 1 - Chongqing (Chaotianmen Dock Embarkation……)
• Day 2 - Fengdu/Zhongxian (Fengdu Ghost City, Feng Yan San Guo Show……)
• Day 3 - Fengjie/Wu County (White Emperor City, Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge……)
• Day 4 - Zigui County/Yichang (Three Gorges Dam Site, Ship Lift…… )

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More Travel Ideas: Seldom travelers head to the Yangtze River only, but combine with more extended land tours in must-visit cities like Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and hot destinations not far from the Yangtze River, like Zhangjiajie, Guilin and Chengdu, etc. Besides, the boarding time of the Yangtze River cruise comes after dinner, and disembarking time is in the early morning, allowing visitors a whole day to explore port cities like Chongqing and Yichang. Therefore, we highly recommend adding these fabulous tourist destinations to your Yangtze trip! Check out our top Yangtze River + China Tours to get inspired!

Yellow River

Yellow River (黄河) is the 2nd largest in China and the 5th longest in the world. It is about 5464km in length. Running through Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong, it is one of the two mother rivers in China and the major original of Chinese civilization in the northern China region.

Pearl River

Pearl River (珠江) is China's 2nd biggest river and the 3rd longest one. Originating from Maxiong Mountain of the Wumeng Mountain system at Yunnan Guizhou Plateau, it now includes the Xijiang River, Dongjiang River, Beijing River, and all Pearl River Delta Region rivers. Boasting plentiful water and multiple branches, Pearl River develops advantageous navigation, which has brought great help to the current prosperity of the economy of the Pearl River Delta Region, including Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen, etc.

Popular China Tour Packages including Yangtze Cruise

5 Days Yichang Tour with Yangtze Cruise Experience

(Yichang / Yangtze Cruise / Chongqing)

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4 Days Chongqing Essence Tour with Yangtze Cruise

(Chongqing / Yangtze Cruise / Yichang )

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6 Days Chongqing, Yangtze River & Zhangjiajie Exciting Tour

(Chongqing / Yangtze Cruise / Yichang / Zhangjiajie)

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11 Days China Golden Triangle Tour with Yangtze River Cruise

(Beijing / Xian / Chongqing / Yangtze Cruise / Yichang / Shanghai)

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Questions & Discussions

Following are latest questions and answers from our webusers and customers. You can learn many useful information from the discussion and cases. You can also join in the discussions or ask your own question. Our experts will help you ASAP.

Craig Lucas

Yellow river cruising

Can you cruise the yellow river like you can on the Yangtze?
Are there overnight or longer cruise packages?

2019-01-21 13:42

Hi Lucas,

Thanks for your question! I am sorry that we have no cruise available over the Yellow River. Yellow River is the largest sandy river in the world. For most part of the river doesn't have the Yangtze's size or depth for cruising. Besides, compared with the river scenery, this“mother river” in China is more famous for the historic and ancient attractions along it. If you are interested in the charming history of the Yellow River, you can pay a visit to the riverside cities like Lanzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Yan'an, etc. or tell us directly about your interests. Our professional travel expert will help you sincerely customize a great tour for you!

Wish you a memorable trip in China!

Skye at yangtze-river-cruises.com 2019-01-22 18:47