The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive

river system In geomorphology, drainage systems, also known as river systems, are the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of land, whether a particular region is dominated by har ...

southern China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Xi ("West"), Bei ("North"), and Dong ("East") rivers of

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

. These rivers are all considered

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...

of the Pearl River because they share a common delta, the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Ma ...

. Measured from the farthest reaches of the Xi River, the Pearl River system is China's third-longest

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

, after the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

and the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

, and second largest by volume, after the Yangtze. The Pearl River Basin () drains the majority of

Liangguang Liangguang (; Chinese postal romanization, Postal romanization: Liangkwang) is a Chinese language, Chinese term for the Provinces of China, province of Guangdong and the former province and present Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region o ...

(

and

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

provinces), as well as parts of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

and

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

in China; it also drains northern parts of Vietnam's

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

Cao Bằng Cao Bằng () is a city in northern Vietnam. It is the capital and largest settlement of Cao Bằng Province. It is located on the bank of the Bằng Giang river, and is around away from the border with China's Guangxi region. According to the ...

and Lạng Sơn provinces. As well as referring to the system as a whole, the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) name is applied to a specific branch within the system. This Pearl River is the widest

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

within the delta, although notably short. The waters that converge east of the Bei Jiang are first referred to as the Pearl River just north of

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

. The Pearl River is famed as the river that flows through Guangzhou. The Pearl River's

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

Bocca Tigris The Humen, also Bocca Tigris or Bogue, is a narrow strait in the Pearl River Delta that separates Shiziyang in the north and Lingdingyang in the south near Humen Town in China's Guangdong Province. It is the site of the Pearl River's discharge ...

, is regularly dredged so as to keep it open for ocean vessels. The mouth of the Pearl River forms a large bay in the southeast of the delta, the

Pearl River Estuary The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-M ...

, the Bocca Tigris separates Shiziyang in the north,

Lingdingyang Lingdingyang () or Lingding Channel is the middle channel of the Pearl River estuary which runs from Humen to Jiuzhouyang. Humen separates Lingdingyang and Shiziyang, the upper channel of the Pearl River Estuary, in the north and Jiuzhouyang, th ...

in the south, and

Jiuzhouyang Jiuzhouyang () or Jiuzhou Channel is the lower channel of the Pearl River estuary which runs from Lingdingyang all the way to the southern end of the Wanshan Archipelago. At the eastern tip of Taipa, from the western tip of Lantau separates Jiuzho ...

at the southern tip of the estuary surrounded by the

Wanshan Archipelago Wanshan may refer to: * Wanshan Archipelago, in Guangdong, China * Wanshan District, in Guizhou, China * Wanshan Special Vehicle, a manufacturer of trucks in China. {{disambig (Guangzhou) as a popular food manufacturer. A 500 kV power line, suspended from three of the tallest pylons in the world, the Pylons of Pearl River Crossing, crosses the river near its mouth. River Pearl

Image gallery

File:Xijiang Zhaoqing.JPG, Looking over the Xi River ("West River") from

Zhaoqing Zhaoqing (), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanzhou, Dinghu ...

to Gaoyao File:pearlriver.jpg, Pearl River at night,

File:Dongguan007.jpg,

Humen Pearl River Bridge The Humen Pearl River Bridge () is a bridge over the Humen, Pearl River in Guangdong Province, southern China. It consists of two main spans - a suspension bridge section and a segmental concrete section. It connects the Nansha District of Guan ...

viewed from Zhenyuan Fort File:Yelin-Island-view-of-Zhuhai-and-Jiuzhou-Islands-0718.jpg,

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of P ...

and Jiuzhou Islands, viewed from

Yeli Island Yeli ( fa, يلي) may refer to: * Yeli, India, a village, List of villages in Pathardi taluka In the 2001 census there were 137 villages in Pathardi tehsil of Ahmednagar district of state of Maharashtra. However the 2011 census only listed 134 ...

at Pearl River mouth

Settlements

Liuzhou Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...

* Dongguan *

Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...

Panyu Panyu, alternately romanized as Punyu, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was a separate county-level city before its incorporation into modern Guangzhou in 200 ...

Zhongshan Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

Wuzhou Wuzhou (, postal: Wuchow; za, Ngouzcouh / Ŋouƨcouƅ), formerly Ngchow, is a prefecture-level city in the east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Wuzhou is located in eastern Guangxi borde ...

Nanning Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South o ...

Guiping Guiping () is a county-level city in eastern Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Guigang City, located at the confluence of the Qian and Yu rivers, which are the Xi River's primary north and south tributaries, respectively. Nam ...

Baise Baise (; local pronunciation: ), or Bose, is the westernmost prefecture-level city of Guangxi, China bordering Vietnam as well as the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. The city has a population of 4.3 million, of which 1.4 million live in the ...

Crossings

* Guangzhou Bridge * Haiyin Bridge *

Haizhu Bridge Haizhu Bridge () is an iron bridge across the Pearl River in Guangzhou, China. The bridge runs from Haizhu Square in Yuexiu District, and south towards Jiangnan Avenue in Haizhu District. Haizhu Bridge was the first bridge to be built across ...

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese name) *Hong (Korean name) Organiz ...

* Huanan Bridge *

* Hedong Bridge * Huangpu Bridge * Jiangwan Bridge *

Jiefang Bridge Jiefang Bridge (, literally “Liberation Bridge”) is a bridge in Guangzhou, China. The bridge connects the Haizhu District with the Yuexiu District, and is one of nine bridges connecting Haizhu with downtown Guangzhou and the business districts ...

Nansha Bridge The Nansha Bridge (simplified Chinese: 南沙大桥; traditional Chinese: 南沙大橋; pinyin: ''Nánshā Dàqiáo'') are two suspension bridges located in Guangdong, China, spanning the Pearl River. It is also the beginning of the Guangzhou– ...

* Pazhou Bridge *

Renmin Bridge Renmin Bridge (, literally “People’s Bridge”) is a bridge crossing the Pearl River in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.On its north is 623 Rd (六二三路) Renmin Bridge connects Haizhu District with Liwan District, and was the second highway b ...

* Shiziyang Tunnel * Xinguang Bridge * Yajisha Bridge *

Shenzhen–Zhongshan Bridge The Shenzhen–Zhongshan Bridge is a bridge under construction. It will connect two major cities on the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in China: the city of Shenzhen on the eastern side of the PRD, and the city of Zhongshan on the western side. It wil ...

(under construction)

Tributaries

* Bei (北江) * Dong (东江) ** Beilingshui (贝岭水) ** Li (浰江) ** Xinfeng (新丰江) ** Qiuxiang (秋香江) ** Gongzhuangshui (公庄水) **

Xizhi Xizhi () is an inner city district in eastern New Taipei City in northern Taiwan, and is located between Taipei City and Keelung City. Compared to most districts in eastern New Taipei, which are very sparsely populated, Xizhi is one of the mor ...

(西枝江) ** Shimahe (石马河) * Xi (西江) ** Yu (鬱江) *** Yong (邕江) **** Zuo (左江) **** You (右江) ** Xun (浔江) *** Qiang (黔江) ***

Liu / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...

(柳江) ****

Rong Rong or RONG may refer to: Places China * Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China * Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China Nepal * Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal Norway * Rong, Norway, a village in Øygard ...

(融江) **** Hongshui (红水河) ***** Beipan (北盘江) ***** Nanpan (南盘江) ****** Ba (灞水 or 灞河) **

Gui The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

(桂江) *** Li (漓江)

References

{{Authority control Rivers of China Drainage basins of the Pacific Ocean Geography of South China Geography of Western China Rivers of Yunnan Rivers of Guangdong Rivers of Guizhou Rivers of Guangxi Rivers of Hong Kong Rivers of Macau South China Bodies of water of the South China Sea

Image gallery

Settlements

Crossings

Tributaries

See also

References