A fleet of smart green vessels and upgraded port facilities are now fully prepared for the official opening of the Pinglu Canal in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, for more efficient river-sea transportation.
The 134.2-km-long Pinglu Canal, which links the Xijiang River shipping route up in the north with the Beibu Gulf in the south, will become operational on Wednesday. It is China's first major river-to-sea canal project that has been planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949.
Designed to accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes, the canal stretches along China's New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a strategic route linking the country's inland regions with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other global markets.
At the core of the vessel upgrade is "Beigang Yunhe 002", a 5,000-tonne smart demonstration ship and one of the first purpose-built intelligent vessels for the Pinglu Canal.
The ship is fitted with engine room systems that enable sub-second data collection and early fault warnings. It supports automatic berthing, autonomous navigation and remote control, while its energy efficiency module adjusts operations in real time according to cargo load, water current and sailing speed.
Its advanced perception systems further enhance its smart capabilities. A six-lens panoramic camera on the top deck provides high-definition monitoring of all waters within a five-kilometer radius, while a solid-state radar extends detection range to greater distances.
As a tailor-made smart green demonstration vessel, "Beigang Yunhe 002" is part of a full "railway-river-sea" integrated shipping system being developed for the canal.
Currently, 570 vessels have obtained official navigation qualifications for the route, with 681 crew members receiving special Pinglu Canal route endorsements.
"Most of the qualified vessels range from 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes, including container ships, bulk carriers and multi-purpose vessels. They can handle the transport of a wide range of goods such as sand, construction materials, bulk commodities and containers. This fleet represents the culmination of years of standardization efforts along the Xijiang River shipping trunk route," said Yue Hongyan, general manager of the logistics center at Chengdu Yuntu Holdings Co., Ltd.
Alongside vessel preparations, ports along the canal are carrying out full-chain upgrades ahead of the opening, covering international vessel berthing, foreign trade transshipment and river-sea route connections.
"We will continue to optimize terminal operation procedures, improve the loading and turnover efficiency of foreign trade goods, and streamline the logistics chain covering cargoes at Nanning Port, transits from the canal to the sea, and direct delivery to the ASEAN region," said Gu Renzhao, chairman of Guangxi Beigang Xijiang Port Co., Ltd.
Local customs and border inspection authorities have also stepped up coordination to ensure seamless customs clearance for goods of all types and all destination routes.
"Nanning Customs has been actively planning for the canal's launch. Drawing on supervision models for river-sea combined transport and simultaneous regulation of domestic and foreign trade containers, we provide customized clearance services tailored to enterprises' specific route and transportation needs," said Lu Yu, deputy chief of Yongzhou Customs under Nanning Customs.
Smart ships and upgraded ports gear up for Pinglu Canal opening
