The Mekong, as it is best known, is the world’s 12th longest river but only the Amazon has a more biodiverse ecosystem.
The Mekong: the good, bad and ugly sides to the ‘Danube of the East’
To Tibetans, it’s known as Dza Chu, or the River of Rocks, and to the Chinese it’s the Lancang Jiang, the Turbulent River. The Lao refer to it as the Mother of Waters, in Cambodia it’s the Great Water and by the time it reaches Vietnam, at the end of a 4,350km journey, it’s referred to as the River of Nine Dragons.
From its source high in the Himalayas, the “Danube of the East” slices through six countries, providing food, water and livelihoods for more than 70 million people before eventually emptying into the South China Sea.
Tim Pile
