Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
JINAN, May 28 (Xinhua) — Workers at the Dongping River Port in east China’s Shandong Province load thousands of tons of urea, which will then be shipped by water to Jiangsu, Anhui and other provinces.
Situated at the northernmost point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Dongping Port enjoys an important geographical position.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal served as an important transportation artery in ancient China and has a history of more than 2,500 years.
“From Dongping, heading south, you can reach the Yangtze River via Xuzhou and Yangzhou. Thanks to water transport, the radius of transportation of building materials, steel and grain from Shandong Province has expanded from 300 km to 1,000 km,” said Xie Honghai, manager of the Dongping Port Operations Department.
Dongping Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in Shandong Province, used to be an important artery of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. However, after the Yellow River changed its course and the canal became silted up, shipping ceased in 1902. Dongping Port resumed shipping in 2021.
By the end of 2024, the Dongping section of the Grand Canal had been upgraded, greatly improving the efficiency of shipping in the port.
“Water transport has reduced transportation costs by 30 percent,” calculated Chen Jiandong, general manager of Shandong Runyin Bio-Chemical Co., Ltd. The company’s annual urea production is about 3 million tons, and switching 20 percent of production volumes to water transport will save over 20 million yuan per year.
In recent years, Dongping Port has been actively introducing smart technologies, including digital operating systems and shore power supply for ships, which improves efficiency and reduces environmental pollution.
In the first four months of 2025, Dongping Port’s cargo throughput exceeded 3.2 million tons. From the sailboats mentioned in the annals to the hoots of 2,000-ton bulk carriers, Dongping Port is once again bringing the legendary “golden waterway” of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to life. -0-