The gate of the Pinglu Canal Ma Dao Hub slowly opened, and ships queued up to pass through the gate step by step, passing through the Qinjiang River and heading straight to the Beibu Gulf to set sail. Since its opening, the Ma Dao Hub Ship Lock has operated more than 200 locks and passed through over 600 ships, operating smoothly, safely, and efficiently. The opening of a canal is not only an additional waterway, but also a crucial leap from the completion to the utilization of a new land sea channel in the western region. The value of the Century Project is not only in the applause at the beginning of construction, but also in every gate, every cargo, and every calculated account after navigation.

The most fundamental operation in the world

The Ma Dao Hub Ship Lock has achieved three world records: the largest and highest water level drop inland waterway ship lock in the world, and the fastest valve opening and closing speed inland waterway ship lock. But the ultimate meaning of the world ultimately lies in its operation. After more than a month of navigation, the three major ship locks have been operating stably, with few waiting locks, high navigation efficiency, and fast freight turnover. The completion of the project is only the starting point. Whether it can operate efficiently and whether it can show practical results to the shipowner is the true yardstick for testing the quality of the century's engineering. A project that goes from drawings to reality, and then from reality to benefits, is separated by the continuous accumulation of operational organization, source cultivation, and market confidence, which require much more patience than concrete pouring.

Balance of cargo volume reflects benefits

From navigation to now, the source of goods has remained stable. At first, the volume of upward cargo transportation was greater than that of downward, but now the volume of upward and downward cargo transportation has basically balanced. Behind this change is the result of the synchronous promotion of source docking and capacity reserve. Guangxi organized shipping companies, logistics companies, and cargo owners to hold docking meetings in the hinterland of the cargo source inside and outside the region before navigation, promoting the signing and landing of a batch of cargo transportation contracts before navigation. The upward and downward trends tend to be balanced, indicating that the two-way value of the channel is being recognized by the market. If a channel only has one-way cargo flow, it is essentially still a pipeline for the outward transportation of resources; Only by running in both directions can we truly integrate into the regional industrial cycle and become a hub for resource allocation. Keywords: social commentary, news and information, shipping, logistics

Ship owners vote with their feet

More and more ship owners are willing to gradually transfer their ships that originally sailed on the Xijiang River to the Pinglu Canal. Shipowners are naturally willing to come when they see practical results. Next, in addition to continuing to stabilize the supply of goods in the hinterland of Guangxi, the Pinglu Canal will gradually increase its flow of goods from Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing. The transition from channel to efficiency does not rely on administrative promotion, but on tangible logistics costs and time advantages. Between the opening and closing of the ship lock, a new chapter of river sea linkage in the western land sea new channel is slowly unfolding. For the western inland regions, the significance of this canal lies in having an additional option, and the choice itself is competitiveness. When shippers can send their products out to sea at lower costs and in a shorter time, Western Manufacturing has a little more confidence in participating in the global market. The navigation of the canal is just the beginning, the real test lies in whether this waterway can be turned into a gravitational field for industrial layout along the route, allowing the channel economy to settle into industrial economy.Editor/Gao Xue