Mekong River (redirected from Lancang Jiang)

Mekong River

 Chinese Lancang Jiang or Lan-Ts'ang Chiang

Longest river of Southeast Asia. Rising in southern Qinghai province, China, it flows south through eastern Tibet and across the highlands of Yunnan province. It then forms part of the border between Myanmar (Burma) and Laos, as well as between Laos and Thailand. It runs through Laos and Cambodia before entering the South China Sea in a delta south of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam after a course of 2,700 mi (4,350 km). Vientiane, Laos, and Phnom Penh, Camb., stand on its banks. Since 1957 the Mekong Committee, an international effort, has initiated projects to harness the river for hydroelectricity and irrigation.