Attempt to follow Asian river is hard work (8)
I believe the answer is:
industry
'is hard work' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'attempt to follow asian river' is the wordplay.
'attempt' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'to follow' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'asian river' becomes 'indus' (I've seen this before).
'try' put after 'indus' is 'INDUSTRY'.
(Other definitions for industry that I've seen before include "The manufacture or production of goods" , "Steady application - to manufacturing?" , "Work (of manufacturing)" , "Business" , "Commerce" .)