The Pearl River, also known by its

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

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 for ...

or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. 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 drainage b ...

of the Pearl River because they share a common

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

, 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-Mac ...

. 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 wate ...

, after the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

and the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

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

and

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

provinces), as well as parts of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, 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 ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

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, Jiangxi to ...

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 se ...

Cao Bằng and

Lạng Sơn Lạng Sơn () is a city in far northern Vietnam, which is the capital of Lạng Sơn Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1. History Due to its ge ...

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 alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

. 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 environment ...

, Bocca Tigris, 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– ...

, the Bocca Tigris separates

Shiziyang Shiziyang () or Shizi Channel is the upper channel of the Pearl River estuary. It runs from the confluence of the Dong River and the Pearl River with parts of the Bei River to the Bocca Tigris which separate Lingdingyang the mid channel of the P ...

in the north, Lingdingyang 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 Jiuzhou ...

at the southern tip of the estuary surrounded by the Wanshan Archipelago. This bay separates

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 ...

and

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 Pearl ...

from

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 city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

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 province ...

. The Pearl River is so named because of the pearl-colored shells that lie at the bottom of the river in the section that flows through the city of Guangzhou. Numerous brands are named after the river, like

Zhujiang Brewery Zhujiang Brewery (Zhujiang Brewery Group Co., Ltd) () was established in 1985 and is a large state-owned enterprise which deals mainly in beer and related products such as labels, cartons, crates, etc. The brewery is one of the largest single site ...

(Guangzhou) being one of the three largest domestic breweries in China, and Pearl River Bridge (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 The Pylons of Pearl River Crossing is a 500 kV power line crossing over the Pearl River (China), Pearl River in China's Guangdong Province. The power lines are suspended from towers. See also * Yangtze River power line crossings References ...

, 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 a ...

Gaoyao Gaoyao, alternately romanized as Koyiu, is an urban district of Zhaoqing in western Guangdong, China. Population: 706,000. Name Gaoyao—literally "high-&-wanting"—is a former name of the Lingyang Gorge on the Xi River. It was originall ...

File:pearlriver.jpg, Pearl River at night,

File:Dongguan007.jpg, Humen Pearl River Bridge viewed from

Zhenyuan Fort Zhenyuan may refer to: Places in China *Zhenyuan County, Gansu, a county in Gansu *Zhenyuan County, Guizhou, a county in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou *Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County, a county in Yunnan * Z ...

File:Yelin-Island-view-of-Zhuhai-and-Jiuzhou-Islands-0718.jpg,

and

Jiuzhou Islands The term Nine Provinces or Nine Regions (), is used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions or islands during the Xia dynasty, Xia and Shang dynasty, Shang dynasties and has now come to symbolically represent China. "Prov ...

, viewed from

Yeli Island Yeli ( fa, يلي) may refer to: * Yeli, India, a village, List of villages in Pathardi taluka, in Pathardi taluka, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra State, India * Yeli-ye Olya * Yeli-ye Sofla {{geodis ...

at Pearl River mouth

Settlements

* Liuzhou * Guilin *

Dongguan Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...

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 *

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 i ...

* Wuzhou *

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 of ...

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 River, Qian and Yu River (China), Yu rivers, which are the Xi River's primary north and south tri ...

* Baise

Crossings

Guangzhou Bridge Guangzhou Bridge () is a bridge crossing the Pearl River in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. History Completed in 1985, the bridge was the third to be built across the Pearl River in Guangzhou. The 1240 metre bridge carries Guangzhou Ave ...

* 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 *

Huanan Bridge Huanan Bridge () is a bridge crossing the Pearl River in Guangzhou, China. The bridge carries the Huanan Expressway, which connects the Haizhu District and southern Panyu District with the Tianhe District. It also serves as an important connecti ...

* Humen Pearl River Bridge *

Hedong Bridge The Hedong Bridge is a cable stayed bridge located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Opened in 1998, it has a main span of . The bridge carries traffic between Liwan District, west of the river and Haizhu District Haizhu District is one of 11 ...

Huangpu Bridge The Huangpu Bridge carries expressway traffic over two branches of the Pearl River in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The bridge is a combined suspension and cable-stayed bridge. The suspension bridge portion crosses the south western channel and ha ...

Jiangwan Bridge Jiangwan Bridge () is a bridge crossing over the Pearl River in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Guangzhou's Inner Ring Road runs across the Bridge, connecting the Haizhu District with the Yuexiu District. On the northern bank of Jiangwan Bridge is ...

* Jiefang Bridge * Nansha Bridge *

Pazhou Bridge Pazhou Bridge () is a bridge in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The bridge connects Tianhe District across the Zhujiang River to the southern district of Huangpuchong in Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alte ...

* Renmin Bridge *

Shiziyang Tunnel The Shiziyang Tunnel is a high-speed railway tunnel under Shiziyang, the northern part of the Pearl River estuary in China. Route The 10.8 km long tunnel is part of a -long high-speed line from Guangzhou to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It is d ...

Xinguang Bridge The Xinguang Bridge is an arch bridge located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Opened in 2008, it has a main span of making it one of the ten longest arch bridge spans in the world. See also *List of longest arch bridge spans This list of ...

Yajisha Bridge The Yajisha Bridge is an arch bridge located in Guangzhou, 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 prov ...

* Shenzhen–Zhongshan Bridge (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 In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

(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 Øygarden m ...

(融江) ****

Hongshui The Hongshui River is a major river in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is one of the main rivers in the basin of the Xi River, which in its turn is one of the main tributaries of the Pearl River. Because it flows thro ...

(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