River · China, Myanmar, Laos
Mekong
The Mekong River flows through six countries in Asia, from the icy Tibetan Plateau to the tropical Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Millions of people rely on its fish and fertile farmland.
Picture credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Mekong?
The river begins at Lasagongma Spring, Qinghai Plateau, China.
It ends in the South China Sea.
Along the way it passes: Lasagongma Spring (source) → Yushu, Qinghai → Chamdo, Tibet → Xishuangbanna/Jinghong → Golden Triangle → Luang Prabang, Laos → Vientiane, Laos → Nakhon Phanom → Savannakhet, Laos → Pakse, Laos.
Countries on the river: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam.
The story behind it
The Mekong begins as icy meltwater high on the Tibetan Plateau, then plunges south through steep gorges in China before slowing down and widening as it crosses Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally Vietnam. Along the way, floating markets, fishing villages and rice paddies depend on the river's rhythm, especially its connection to Cambodia's Tonlé Sap Lake, which famously reverses direction and grows many times bigger during the rainy season. The Mekong is home to the giant Mekong catfish, one of the largest freshwater fish on Earth, which can weigh as much as three hundred kilograms, roughly the size of a small car. Near its end, the river splits into countless channels across the Mekong Delta, an enormous patchwork of farmland that grows much of Vietnam's rice before finally reaching the South China Sea.
Questions children ask
How long is the Mekong River?
The Mekong River is about 4,350 kilometres long, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau in China through five more countries before reaching the South China Sea in Vietnam.
Which countries does the Mekong River flow through?
The Mekong flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. In several places it forms the border between two countries before finally crossing into Vietnam and reaching the sea.
What is the giant Mekong catfish?
The giant Mekong catfish is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, sometimes weighing as much as 300 kilograms. It lives only in the Mekong River and is now critically endangered.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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