China is finishing building the Pinglu Channel. Ships will gain 560 km shorter way to sea

China completes the construction of the Pinglu Canal, which will connect the southwestern regions of the country to the Gulf of Tonkin, thus shortening the ship's path to the sea by about 560 km. On the new route there are full-course sailing trials and regular navigation It's supposed to start in September.

Middle State once again shows the momentum it can build transport infrastructure. This time it is not about another great port, bridge or railway line, but about a channel of more than 134 km, which is to change the shipping system in the south-western part of the country and open a much shorter route to the sea to the provinces there.

^{Photo. Ships during sailing trials on the Pinglu Channel before its opening, August 2026. Xinhua}

On the channel there are full-course sailing trials, starting on August 12. They are attended by four ships representing the basic size of the vessels to use the new waterway, including ships with a load capacity of 5,000 tonnes. Passing through airlocks, passing and overtaking other units, maneuvering, mooring and navigation Night.

This is the last major test before the opening planned for September this year. channel, whose construction is already completed in over 98 percent.

134 km of new waterway

The Pinglu Canal is 134.2 km long and leads from the Pingtang River in the Nanning area to the Beibu Bay, which forms the northern part of the Tonkin Gulf. Thanks to this, inland waterways of the Kuangsi-Czuang region will be directly connected to the sea.

The most important, however, is the difference in the length of the route. Currently, goods from southwestern China headed by waterway to the sea must flow towards the Pearl River Delta and the ports of the Canton region. This canal will shorten this road by about 560 km. From Nanning to the port of Qinzhou, a water connection of about 291 km will be built to be the shortest way of this region to the sea.

The channel was designed for ships with a load capacity of up to 5,000 tonnes. According to previous assumptions of the investment, its capacity is expected to increase systematically in subsequent years with the development of transport between western China and ports of the Gulf of Tonkin.

China opens western provinces to sea

The importance of Pinglu is not limited to the Kuangsi region itself. The new waterway is one of the main elements of Chinese transport corridor linking western and southwestern provinces to seaports and markets in Southeast Asia.

For provinces such as Junnan and Kujczou, this means shorter access to maritime transport, while for ports in the Gulf of Tonkin, the possibility of taking over more of the cargo directed between China and ASEAN states. Beijing hopes not only to reduce transport times, but also to reduce logistics costs and increase the importance of southern ports in handling trade with Southeast Asia.

The Pinglu Canal is the first since the founding of the People's Republic of China such a large project which leads from Chinese inland waterways directly towards the sea, planned and coordinated at central level. Its opening will therefore not only be the completion of the four-year construction, but above all a significant change in the transport system of South Western China.