High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the sixth-longest in the world at 5,464 kilometers (3,398 mi). Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into the Bohai Sea. The Yellow River basin has an east-west extent of 1900 km (1,180 mi) and a north-south extent of 1100 km (684 mi). Total basin area is 742,443 km² (290,520 mi²).