Why do China’s major rivers generally flow eastward?

China’s major rivers generally flow eastward because of the country's overall relief, which is characterized by high elevations in the west and lower elevations in the east.1

The landscape of China is divided into three primary steps or levels of elevation:

• First Level: This includes the Plateau of Tibet, the world's loftiest highland area, with an average elevation exceeding 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).1
• Second Level: This area consists of basins and plateaus, such as the Loess Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, where mountains descend to heights between 3,000 and 6,000 feet (900 and 1,800 meters).1
• Third Level: This region, extending to the China Sea, is composed primarily of hills and plains lying below 1,500 feet (450 meters).1

Because the terrain slopes downward from the west to the east, major rivers—including the Huang He, the Yangtze, and the Xi River—naturally follow this gradient toward the sea.21