Yellow River A river of northern China rising in the Kunlun Mountains and flowing about 5,400 km (3,350 mi) generally eastward to the Bohai Sea. It is named for the vast quantities of yellow silt it carries to its delta. The river is sometimes called “China’s Sorrow” because of the devastating floods that once occurred regularly in its lower course. Yellow River is the translation of Huang He, its Chinese name.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Yellow River n (Placename) the second longest river in China, rising in SE Qinghai and flowing east, south, and east again to the Gulf of Bohai south of Tianjin; it has changed its course several times in recorded history. Length: about 4350 km (2700 miles). Chinese name: Hwang Ho Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Huang He (??w?? ?h?) also Hwang Ho n. a river flowing from W China into the Gulf of Bohai. 2800 mi. (4510 km) long. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.