In August 2026, a cargo ship loaded with Southwest mechanical and electrical products smoothly passed through the lock in the wide channel of the Pinglu Canal, marking the official launch of the full line real ship test of this western land sea new channel backbone project. As the last full process test before navigation, the smooth progress of this trial voyage means that after the official opening of the canal in September, the water transportation distance from southwest cargo to ASEAN will be greatly shortened, and the last key puzzle of opening up to the sea in the west is about to land.

The accessibility of western road networks has significantly increased

In the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, the construction of the comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network in the western region continued to deepen, and a number of landmark projects were successively implemented.

The construction of the Xizhao Expressway, which connects Liangshan in Sichuan and Zhaotong in Yunnan, is intensifying in the hinterland of Daliangshan. After its opening this year, the travel time from Xichang to Zhaotong will be reduced from 8 hours to 3 hours, completely ending the history of no direct expressway between the two places. As of August 2026, the accessibility rate of highways in cities and counties with a permanent population of over 100000 in the western urban areas has increased to over 99%. The operating mileage of railways in the western region has reached 67300 kilometers, accounting for more than 40% of the total national mileage. The railway skeleton on the snowy plateau continues to extend, and the time and space distance between the border and the mainland continues to narrow.

Accelerating the formation of an open hub network

The construction of transportation in the western region is no longer limited to basic connectivity, but is upgrading towards an efficient and open system that connects internally and externally.

The renovation and expansion project of Kunming Changshui Airport is accelerating, and after completion, it will become the world's second high-altitude multi runway international aviation hub, and the formation of a 1-hour aviation circle radiating to South Asia and Southeast Asia is accelerating. According to the plan, during the 15th Five Year Plan period, China will continue to promote the construction of cross regional channels from Xinjiang to Tibet and along the border, coast, and river. By 2030, the main framework of the Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal high-speed railways will cover major cities in the western region, high-grade highways will basically cover county-level and above administrative regions and key towns in the western region, and branch transportation airport services will basically cover prefecture level administrative regions. Keywords: Western Land Sea New Corridor, Western Transportation Construction

From the trial cargo ships on the Pinglu Canal to the highways crossing the Daliangshan Mountains, every step of the extension of western transportation is breaking through the geographical limitations of living deep inland. Moving from basic connectivity in the past to efficient coverage today, the continuously woven transportation network is transforming the regional shortcomings of the western region into an open advantage, injecting a continuous stream of power into the new pattern of western development.Editor/Cheng Liting