Mekong River Basin

The Mekong River is the longest river in Southeast Asia, with a total length of approximately 4,908 kilometers and a total drainage area of ??811,000 square kilometers. It is the ninth longest river in the world, the seventh longest river in Asia, and the largest river in Southeast Asia. Originating in Qinghai Province, China, it flows through the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province, and then becomes part of the international border between Myanmar and Laos, and between Laos and Thailand. It also flows through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and then south of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) into the South China Sea. Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, are both on the coast. About 3/4 of the Mekong River basin area flows through the five countries downstream of it - Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The section of the Lancang River after it flows out of the Chinese border is called the Mekong River, accounting for 77.8% of the total area of ??the Mekong River and the Lancang River. It includes almost the entire Laos, Cambodia and most of Thailand, the delta area of ??Vietnam and parts of the central highlands. The average ratio decrease in Lihe River is about 0.16‰.

The second largest international river flows into the South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean. The main tributaries include Namtha River, Nam Oo River, Nam Khan River, Nam O River, Nam Tun River, Bang Fei River, Se Bang Heng River, Mon River, Sang River, Tonle Sap River, etc., among which Mon River is the largest tributary. Residents in the lower basin account for about 1/3 of the population of the four countries along the river. Almost all people are engaged in agriculture, with rice as the main crop. The most densely populated areas are in the delta and the Korat Plateau. The few urban populations have been growing dramatically, largely through migration to metropolitan areas. The population of the basin is not homogeneous. Ethnic groups range from the Sino-Tibetan people in the upper Mekong region, including the mountain groups of the Karen and Hmong, to the Khmer, Cham, Thai, Mon and Vietnamese lowland groups in the lower Mekong basin. The Vietnamese are concentrated in the delta, and the Khmer and Thai people are most widely distributed in the lower river basin.