Which river is known as the 'Yellow River' in English?

The river known as the “Yellow River” in English is the Huang He.

The Huang He, also spelled Huang-ho, is China’s second-longest river, flowing for roughly 5,464 kilometres. It rises in the Bayan Har Mountains of Qinghai Province and travels eastward across northern China before emptying into the Bohai Sea. “Huang He” literally means “Yellow River” in Mandarin Chinese, so the two names identify the same river rather than separate waterways.

Its striking colour comes mainly from loess, a fine yellow sediment carried from the Loess Plateau. This sediment gives the river its muddy appearance and has also contributed to severe flooding and rapid changes in the river’s course. Historically, those floods earned it the nickname “China’s sorrow.”

The Huang He is central to Chinese history. Its basin is often described as one of the important cradles of Chinese civilization, with early settlements, agriculture and states developing along its banks. It is sometimes confused with the Yangtze, China’s longest river, but the Yangtze is a different river and flows generally through central and southern China.