The Yarlung Zangbo River, an international water system, is located at the Tibet Autonomous Region and a river with the highest altitude in the world. The total length of the Yarlung Zangbo River in China is 2,057 kilometers, ranking the 5th longest river among the famous rivers of China. It has a drainage area of 240,480 square kilometers, and ranks the 6th largest river in China. Its annual runoff volume to foreign country is 140 billion m3, ranking the 3rd largest in China, just next to the Yangtze River and the Pearl River.

The Yarlung Zangbo River, which finds its source on the Gyaimanezong Glacier in Zongba County in the northern foothills of the Himalayas, belongs to the water system of the Indian Ocean. The Yarlung Zangbo River flows from west to east across the southern section of the Tibet Plateau. It first runs across Mailing, then turns to north and east before sharply flowing south toward and then flowing into India. After it flows into India, its name is changed to the Brahumaputra River, which later meets with the Ganges River before joining the Indian Ocean from the Bay of Bengal.