A train departing from the mountainous area of eastern Guangdong, carrying 44 TEUs of refrigerators and other electrical products, is heading to the North American market across the ocean. The container door is sealed at the factory in Meizhou High tech Zone, and the customs clearance procedures are completed in one go at Meizhou International Land Port. Then, it is transported directly by railway to Yantian Port in Shenzhen, seamlessly connecting with the North American ocean freight line of Ocean Network Shipping (ONE). Recently, the Meizhou Yantian Port sea rail intermodal exclusive train jointly built by Guangzhou COSCO Shipping Logistics Supply Chain Co., Ltd. Meizhou Branch and ONE was successfully launched, opening up a steel channel that connects inland mountain cities with cross Pacific routes.

The old accounts of the mountain city going out to sea

Meizhou is located in the Dongshan District of Guangdong Province, not by the sea or air. In the past, most foreign trade goods that wanted to go abroad had to rely on long-distance transportation by road: first, empty containers were extracted from coastal ports three to four hundred kilometers away, transported back to the factory for packing, and then transported back to the port area for container return. There were many transit links, frequent loading and unloading, and long-term high costs. For low profit products such as electromechanical, light industry, and home furnishings, every penny of shipping cost is eating into profits; When faced with tight cabin space, it is not up to oneself to decide whether or not to board the ship and which class to book. In December 2023, Meizhou International Land Port was officially launched, becoming Yantian International's first inland port in eastern Guangdong. The port functions have been moved to the doorstep of enterprises, and container handling, loading, customs declaration, and inspection can all be completed on site.

One box goes all the way to North America

The solution for the new train is very direct: the goods are loaded onto the train after completing the packing and customs declaration in Meizhou, and go all the way to Yantian Port, reducing the need for loading, unloading, and transit. The entire process is carried out in one box, compressing logistics efficiency and reducing overall logistics costs. Relying on the district port linkage model, Meizhou International Land Port has opened 8 sea rail intermodal transportation channels. Starting from February 2026, Yantian and Nansha will operate stable fixed trains, forming a fixed time and stable train system. The introduction of leading shipping company ONE this time brings customized guarantees for exclusive trunk lines, stable cabin space, and optimal freight rates, allowing Meizhou enterprises to lock in North American cabin space right at their doorstep.

Two way running green account

This passage is not a one-way exit ticket. Meizhou's foreign trade products such as electromechanical, light industry, and home furnishings can be conveniently exported overseas, and imported goods can also be transported back inland in the same direction through the same channel, thus facilitating two-way cargo flow. Compared with road transportation, sea rail intermodal transportation has lower carbon emissions, which is in line with the development direction of green and low-carbon logistics. The data confirms the value of the channel: in 2025, Meizhou International Land Port completed 5500 TEUs of sea rail intermodal containers, a year-on-year increase of 19.5%, with a cargo value of 1.22 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 79.4%; The cumulative shipment has exceeded 10000 TEUs, with a value of about 2 billion yuan. A batch of Meizhou made products such as copper foil, household appliances, luggage, ceramics, pomelo fruit, etc. have gone global from here.

Li Shengyang, Director of ONE Hong Kong and South China, stated that ONE will continue to provide stable and reliable sea rail intermodal train services, helping Meizhou deeply integrate into the port system of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and empowering Guangdong East's foreign trade to stabilize volume and improve quality. The Meizhou Comprehensive Bonded Zone Management Committee stated that the next step will be to continue to deepen government enterprise collaboration, build a modern cross-border logistics system with multiple ship companies settling in, multiple routes covering, and full chain guarantee, and transform platform advantages and channel advantages into industrial advantages and business environment advantages.Editor/Yang Meiling