Lishui River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Hunan

Hunan

' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...

 province of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, one of the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

's four largest tributaries

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 in the province. (Also see the Li River

Li River

Li River can refer to:*Lishui River , a river in Hunan province of China, one of the Yangtze River's four largest tributaries in the province....

 disambiguation page.)

Lishui has three origination places, the north, the middle and the south. The north one is the most important place, origination from Shanmujie of Sangzhi county

Sangzhi County

Sangzhi County is a county in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province of China....

 in Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiajie is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan province in China. It comprises the district of Yongding and counties of Cili and Sangzhi...

. The middle one, origination from the east side of the Badagongshan Mountain in Sangzhi and the south place, origination from Longjiazhai of Yongshun County

Yongshun County

Yongshun County is a county of Hunan, China. It is under the administration of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.-References:*...

 in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous profecture of Xiangxi. The three originations join the main river in Nancha of Sangzhi

Sangzhi County

Sangzhi County is a county in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province of China....

, then runs east.

It flows into the Dongting Lake

Dongting Lake

Dongting Lake, or Lake Dongting is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River . Hence the lake's size depends on the season...

 at Xiaodukou in Jinshi. Its total length is 388 kilometres.

Cities along the river include

• Zhangjiajie
  Zhangjiajie
  Zhangjiajie is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan province in China. It comprises the district of Yongding and counties of Cili and Sangzhi...
  
  
• Jishou
  Jishou
  Jishou is a county-level city and the seat of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Hunan province of thePeople's Republic of China.-History:...
  
  
• Shimen
• Lixian
  Li County, Hunan
  Li or Lixian is a county under the municipal region of Changde, Hunan.-Administration:The county executive, legislature and judiciary are in Liyang Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches.-Special Status:...
  
  
• Jinshi
• Changde
  Changde
  Changde is a city in the north of Hunan Province, China, with a population of 5,717,218 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,232,182 in the built up area made of 2 urban districts .-History:...