Hanjiang River, also known as Hanshui River, is a tributary of the Yangtze River. Modern hydrology believes that there are three sources: Shui Yang in the Central Plains, Qushui in Beiyuan and Daiyu River in Nanyuan, all of which are located in ningqiang county, Shaanxi Province, at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains. They flow through Mianxian County (now Mianxian County) and then flow eastward to Hanzhong. The section from Ankang to Danjiangkou was called Canglang Water in ancient times, and Xiangyang was nicknamed Xiangjiang River and Xiangshui below.

The Hanjiang River flows through Shaanxi and Hubei provinces and joins the Yangtze River at Longwang Temple in Hankou, Wuhan. The river length 1.577 km, and the basin area 1.959 years ago was 1.743 million square km, ranking first among all the basins in the Yangtze River system. After 1959, it was reduced to159,000 square kilometers. Hanjiang River is a tributary of the Yangtze River and occupies an important position in history. Often juxtaposed with the Yangtze River, Huaihe River and Yellow River, they are collectively called "Jianghuai Hehan".

The main stream is above Danjiangkou, Hubei, and the valley is narrow, about 925km long; Danjiangkou to Zhongxiang is the middle reaches, with a wide valley and many beaches, about 270km long; Zhongxiang to Hankou is the downstream, about 382km long, flowing through Jianghan Plain, and the river twists and turns gradually shrink.