| Major rivers | Description | Water resources availability (billion m3) | Per capita water availability (m3/year. capita) | Situational facts |
| Yangtze | Originating from the Tibetan plateau and flowing through Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu at a length of 6300 km, Yangtze is considered to be the longest river in China and third largest in the world. It has eight main tributaries and a catchment area of 1.8 million square kilometers, accounting for about 20% of China’s total land area. | 839.60 | 2300 | The cradle of Chinese civilization, transportation and irrigation. Low strain on water (4 per cent) but high susceptibility to water and climate hazards. A repository for some industrial and sewage disposal. Changes in parts of the regional water tables and drinking qualities. Intermittent floods, social and ecological problems, particularly at the downstream regions of the Three Gorges Dam. |
| Pearl | The Pearl River is 2214 km long, and is China’s third longest river. It runs through Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and empties between Hong Kong and Macau into the South China Sea in which it forms a delta. | 453.62 | 3320 | The River feeds and baths the Greater Bay Areas—it accounts for five percent of the total population of China and 12 percent of the national GDP. The deterioration in the quality of water continues to worsen. The Pearl River Delta is considered and marked under the Water Ten Plan. |
| Southwest |
| 504.20 | 31,910 |
|
| Southeast |
| 161.96 | 2962 |
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