China's first sea-reaching canal since the founding of New China, Pinglu Canal, opens to navigation on September 16

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 7, the Information Office of the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region held a press conference announcing that the Pinglu Canal will officially open to navigation on September 16.

The Pinglu Canal, with a total length of 134.2 kilometers, is a key project of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor and the first canal project in China since the founding of New China to connect rivers to the sea under national-level coordination. It starts at Pingtang River Estuary in Hengzhou City, Guangxi, passes through Luwu Town in Lingshan County, and follows the Qin River into the Beibu Gulf. Its completion has opened up the shortest and most economical sea passage for the southwestern region, directly shortening the voyage to the sea by 560 kilometers and saving 7 to 15 days of shipping time.

The Pinglu Canal directly connects the main stream of the Xijiang River with the Beibu Gulf, allowing vessels from the southwestern region to reach the sea more conveniently. The water level drops 65 meters from the starting point to the endpoint of the canal. To overcome this drop and ensure vessel passage, the project constructed three cascade hubs: Madao, Qishi, and Qingnian. Among them, the Madao Hub has set two records:

• It is the water-saving ship lock with the largest water level difference, with a maximum upstream-downstream water level difference of 29.6 meters, equivalent to nearly 10 stories high.

• It is also the largest inland water-saving ship lock, with an internal length of 300 meters and a width of 34 meters. A single lock chamber covers an area equivalent to 1.5 standard football fields, and the two locks can simultaneously accommodate the passage of twelve 5,000-ton-class vessels.

The Madao and Qishi hubs have also set a world record — the water-saving ship lock with the fastest valve opening and closing speed. Additionally, the Pinglu Canal is the highest-navigation-grade canal in China and the largest earthwork transportation project in the country (with a total excavation volume of approximately 315 million cubic meters, nearly three times that of the Three Gorges Project), capable of directly accommodating 5,000-ton-class large vessels.