As the effects of global warming on climate have a wide spatial variability, regional studies of temporal climate trends are critical. This study investigates the effect of global warming on temperature and precipitation trends in the Yellow, Yangtze and Pearl River basins (the Three Basins) of China over the past 58 years (1956–2013). Over this time period, the mean warming rate in the Three Basins (0.22 °C/10 yr) was close to that for the global land surface (0.21 °C/10 yr). However, the warming rate showed high spatial variability across the study region, ranging from 0.05 °C/10 yr to 0.49 °C/10 yr. These rates tend to increase with latitude and elevation and toward very large cities (e.g., Shanghai). The warming rate in the Three Basins varied by season, it was lower in summer (0.14 °C/10 yr) and higher in winter (0.29 °C/10 yr). In spite of the warming trend, no statistically significant increase or decrease in precipitation was found for the Three Basins over the past 58 years.