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 (Chang Jiang), Yellow River (Huang He), and the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) 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 2025 China River Maps for reference.
Major Rivers on the China Map
Major Rivers on the China Map
China has 7 major river systems, including the Yangtze River system (长江水系), Yellow River system (黄河水系), Pearl River system (珠江水系), 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
Yangtze River Map
Yangtze River (长江) is the longest river in China and Asia, with a total length of more than 6,300 kilometers. It flows from the Tibet Plateau and runs through Qinghai, Xizang (Tibet), Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu before emptying into the East China Sea near Shanghai.
The Yangtze region is considered the cradle of ancient Chinese civilization, featuring numerous cultural and historical heritages with tons of old stories 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 that the Yangtze River has always been on the top list of things to do in China travel.
Shanghai & Yangtze Cruise Embarkation
Yangzhou & Nanjing
Chizhou, Jiujiang & Wuhan
Yueyang & Jiuzhou
Yichang & Fengdu
Chongqing
15 Days Panoramic Yangtze Tour: Shanghai to Chongqing Cruise with City Highlights
— Travel the Yangtze River from sea to source
- Day 1~3 - Shanghai (The Bund, Yu Garden……; Yangtze River Cruise Embarkation)
- Day 4~5 - Yangzhou & Nanjing (Slender West Lake, Crew Gala Event; Mt. Niushou Cultural Park...)
- Day 6~8 - Chizhou, Jiujiang & Wuhan (Mount Jiuhua / Jindezang Temple; Jingdezhen Porcelain Town / Mt.Lushan; Yellow Crane Tower, Hubei Provincial Museum...)
- Day 9~10 - Yueyang & Jiuzhou (Yueyang Tower, Ancient Bianhe Street; Jingzhou Ancient City Wall...)
- Day 11~13 - Yichang & Fengdu (Three Gorges Dam, Fengdu Ghost City, Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge ...)
- Day 14~15 Chongqing (Yangtze River Cruise Disembarkation; Hongya Cave, Liziba Station...)
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.
Chongqing & Yangtze Cruise Embarkation
Fengdu/Zhongxian
Three Gorges & Shennv Stream
Zigui County/Yichang
5 Days Three Gorges Cruise Tour (Chongqing to Yichang)
— Appreciate the essence part of Yangtze River
- Day 1~2 - Chongqing (Hongya Cave, Liziba Metro Station…; Chaotianmen Dock Embarkation)
- Day 3 - Fengdu/Zhongxian (Shibaozhai Pagoda, Fengdu Ghost City...)
- Day 4 - Three Gorges, Shennv Stream
- Day 5 - Yichang (Three Gorges Dam…; Yangtze River Cruise Disembarkation)
Top Recommended Yangtze River Ships (Chongqing - Yichang)
Still feel trouble? Check How to Choose Your Best Yangtze Ship to get inspired now!
More Travel Tips: Seldom travelers head to the Yangtze River only, but combine with more land tours in must-visit cities like Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, and hot destinations not far from it such as Zhangjiajie, Guilin and Chengdu, etc. Besides, most travelers also make a exploration in its port city - Chongqing. We highly recommend to add these fabulous tourist destinations to your Yangtze trip! You can check out our top Yangtze River + China Tours to get inspired!
Best China Yangtze River Cruise Tours:
Other Useful Yangtze River Travel Articles:
▶ How to Plan a Yangtze River Cruise Tour
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.
Travel Yangtze River With Us
Are you having a plan to take a cruise to discover the most longest and most beautiful Yangtze River in China but are not sure about when to cruise, take one downstream or upstream, which ship to choose, or where to go before and after the cruise trip?
We www. yangtze-river-cruises.com are your trusted travel partner. Our expert guides will plan a seamless trip, taking optimal transport, time, and any requirements you may have into consideration. Besides, in Shanghai and Chongqing, our tour packages offer experienced drivers with comfortable private vehicles, carefully selected hotels, and all necessary attraction tickets. Each tour can be fully customized based on your group size, travel dates, fitness level, interests, budget, etc. Browse our tours or contact us directly for assistance or to create a personalized itinerary!
Our Customer Enjoying Yangtze Cruise Trip
Keep Readings of China River Map
- Yangtze River Map
- 2025 Latest News
- How to Plan a Cruise Tour
- China Yangtze Tour Planning
- How to Book a Cruise
- How to Choose a Route
- How to Choose a Ship
- How to Choose a Cabin
- Get to Cruise Ports
- How to Leave Cruise Ports
- Best Time to Cruise
- What to Expect Onshore
- Onboard Experience
- What to Pack
- Tipping & Tipping Suggestions
- Yangtze Cruise FAQs & Tips
- Yangtze River Cruise Guide
- Customer Support Guide
- Shore Excursions Tips & Advices
Popular China Tour Packages including Yangtze Cruise
15 Days China Yangtze Tour with Zhangjiajie Landscape & Guilin Karst
14 Days Amazing China Yangtze Tour with Chengdu Panda
6 Days Chongqing, Yangtze River & Zhangjiajie Exciting Tour
14 Days China Memorable Tour with Yangtze Cruise
11 Days China Golden Triangle Tour with Yangtze River Cruise
13 Days Classic China Tour with Yangtze Cruise
Not easy to find the right cruise ship/itinerary for you? Please contact one of our Yangtze cruise specialists to save your time and money. Click the right button to send an online inquiry and we will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hours.
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Your can rely on our expert knowledge and endless enthusiasm!
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.
Are there overnight or longer cruise packages?
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!
