Mekong River, Cambodian Mékôngk, Laotian Mènam Khong, Thai Mae Nam Khong, Vietnamese Sông Tiên Giang, Chinese (Pinyin) Lancang Jiang or (Wade-Giles) Lan-ts’ang Chiang.

This river that is the longest river in Southeast Asia, the 7th longest in Asia, and the 12th longest in the world. It has a length of about 2,700 miles (4,350 km).

Rising in southeastern Qinghai 
province, China, it flows through the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region

and Yunnan province, after which it forms part of the international border between Myanmar (Burma) and Laos, as well as between Laos and Thailand.

The river then flows through Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam before draining into the South China Sea south of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Vientiane (Viangchan), the capital of Laos, and Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, both stand on its banks.

About three-fourths of the drainage area of the Mekong lies within the four countries the river traverses on its lower course—Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

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