A super-sized agricultural logistics center in Pengzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, has played a major part in enabling households nationwide to enjoy fresh food from different places and different ripening seasons.
At dawn, the Sichuan Yurun International Agricultural Products Trading Center, the largest distribution hub of its kind in southwest China, is already bustling. More than 15,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables are traded there every day, with a web of roads, railways and cold chains carrying fresh food from across the country to household nationwide.
"These vegetables were in the field yesterday. And now they have arrived in Mengyang (a sub-district in Pengzhou where the trading center locates), and I can send them to Lhasa in three days," said Huang Guoyong, a merchant at the trading center.
"Now we are selling watermelon from northeast China. When those finish, we will sell watermelon from Guangxi, then Myanmar. We will sell those from Myanmar for more than a month, then those from Laos. We keep selling until May or June next year, when watermelons from the surrounding region come onto the market. Some people asked whether these watermelons have been kept in cold storage. How could they be? They're all fresh, newly picked from the fields," said Yun Guangxu, another merchant.
Behind the busy market is an expanding logistics network. By the end of 2025, Sichuan's expressway mileage had surpassed 11,000 kilometers, with 37 high-speed trunk roads linking the province to the national road network.
"We send [durians] to Xizang every day, and it takes only two days to reach Xinjiang, which is unimaginable in the past," said Zheng Jinjun, another merchant.
Besides selling durians, Zheng said they are also developing fresh-cut processing and working with a team from Southwest University of Science and Technology on durian sorting and pulp preservation technology.
Faster logistics is encouraging more merchants to expand their markets and explore new business models. The logistics network is not only keeping tables supplied with fresh food, but also ringing more development opportunities to local people.
Robust logistics hub in Sichuan delivers fresh food to households nationwide
China recorded more than 15.46 million cross-border trips during the week-long National Day holiday, as international travel has continued to rebound and visa-free policies have helped drive inbound tourism, official data released on Thursday showed.
According to the National Immigration Administration, border inspection authorities across the country handled a total of 15.462 million inbound and outbound passenger crossings by Chinese and foreign travelers during the holiday, averaging 2.209 million trips per day. The figure was 6.7 percent higher than that in the same period of last year.
Foreign nationals made 682,000 inbound trips during the holiday, up 5.4 percent year on year. Of these, 505,000 entered under visa-free policies, an increase of 9.2 percent from a year earlier.
Major cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, witnessed busy cross-border passenger flows.
At the Mohan Railway Port in southwest China's Yunnan Province, nearly 7,000 travelers from 31 countries and regions crossed the border during the holiday. Visa-free foreign travelers accounted for more than 58 percent of inbound passengers there.
In Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, international visitors explored attractions such as the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Du Fu Thatched Cottage, sampled local cuisine and experienced traditional cultural activities.
As of October 7, Sichuan border inspection authorities had processed more than 141,000 inbound and outbound passenger trips and 840 flights during the holiday, with passenger traffic up 7.8 percent year on year.
Other parts of the country also saw strong travel and consumption activities. In south China's Hainan Province, the offshore duty-free market recorded sales of 855 million yuan (about 127 million U.S. dollars) from October 1 to 7. Nearly 700,000 items were sold, while the number of shopping trips reached 123,000, up 10.41 percent year on year.
In Guangzhou City, south China's Guangdong Province, where the 140th Canton Fair is approaching, ports also recorded heavy passenger flows.
The Guangzhou General Station of Immigration Inspection said its ports handled about 405,000 inbound and outbound traveler trips during the holiday, the highest National Day holiday figure in nearly five years.
"Many businesspeople arrived in Guangzhou ahead of schedule to visit factories and hold business negotiations, bringing a peak in inbound passenger flows at Pazhou Port. We have fully implemented the 16 measures introduced by the Guangzhou General Station of Immigration Inspection to provide services and support for the 140th Canton Fair. We've opened special lanes for Canton Fair businesspeople to ensure that travelers and overseas businesspeople can pass through border controls safely, conveniently and efficiently," said Xiao Yan, an inspection officer at Zhoutouzui Border Inspection Station.
China records 15.46 million cross-border trips during National Day holiday
