On April 15, 2026, a special matchmaking event in Liuzhou, Guangxi, gave the Southwest manufacturing industry a sense of change. Led by the Western Land Sea New Channel Office, Pinglu Canal Group, Beibu Gulf Port and dozens of cargo companies have been brought together at the same table. While freight forwarders were still calculating the cost of circumnavigating the Pearl River Delta, a golden waterway leading directly to the Beibu Gulf had entered the countdown to navigation.

Thousand ton cargo ship goes directly to Beibu Gulf

The Pinglu Canal has a total length of 134.2 kilometers, starting from the mouth of Pingtang River in Hengzhou, Nanning, and flowing into the sea along the Qinjiang River through Luwu Town in Qinzhou. The entire canal is constructed as a first-class inland waterway and can accommodate ships of 5000 tons. After the completion of the canal, the sea voyage of goods from southwest China was shortened by more than 560 kilometers compared to circumnavigating Guangzhou, and the annual freight cost was saved by over 5.2 billion yuan. The industrial belts along Liuzhou, Nanning, and Qinzhou will be repriced.

Three major hubs conquer a drop of 65 meters

The 65 meter water level difference between the starting and ending points is the biggest obstacle to the project. The three major cascade hubs of Madao, Qishi, and Qingnian have achieved a smooth transition with the world's largest provincial water lock, with a single lock capable of transporting over 300000 cubic meters of water within 16 minutes. The design of the third level provincial water tank at the Ma Dao Hub enables 60% of water resources to be recycled, saving over one billion tons of water annually.

Ecological fishway restarts 66 year journey back

Next to the Youth Hub, a 480 meter long dual channel fishway is quietly running. The vertical slit passage is designed for red eyed trout and mud carp to pass through, while the eel passage is designed specifically for eels with a 15 degree slope and climbing substrate. The migration channel of fish in the Qinjiang River, which had been interrupted for 66 years, has reopened. The sonar system has recorded data on over 50000 fish passing through it. Keywords: Infrastructure Engineering News Network, Water Resources, Pinglu Canal Infrastructure

Redevelopment of Southeast Asian Logistics Map

As a backbone project of the Western Land Sea New Corridor, the canal will build a cross-border industrial chain from Beibu Gulf to Chengdu Chongqing, Guangdong Hong Kong Macao. Goods from Guizhou, Hunan, and Sichuan can directly reach ASEAN through this area, and ASEAN goods can also penetrate deep into the southwestern hinterland along this route. A river runs through, and the southwest has risen from an open end to a hub front.Editor/Gao Xue