has six major river systems: the Jingsha River, Lancang River, Nujiang River, Ayeyarwady River, the Pearl River and the Red River, and over 30 lakes. The total length of navigable river channels in the province amounts to around 8,000km. At present, the length of inland navigation is 1,324 km. Major waterways are the Jingsha and Lancang Rivers and the main ports are Shuifu, Suijiang, Jinghong, Simao and Dali. Jinghong and Simao Ports have now been formally opened for business following national inspection and approval.

To meet the needs of regional economic cooperation and development, the governments of China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand signed a Commercial Navigation Agreement on the Lancang-Mekong River in April 2002, formally launching international navigation on the river. This international waterway in Yunnan has drawn a great deal of attention from the central government.

It is planned that Yunnan will invest 367.50 million RMB in the construction of shipping channels in the next five years. The tonnage of ships for international navigation on the Lancang-Mekong River will be increased from 100 to 200 tons, which will help strengthen economic cooperation between Yunnan Province and its neighboring countries.