Construction site of Madao Junction of Pinglu Canal in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
The colossal Pinglu Canal in China was built in just four years. The impressive engineering work will begin experimental operations in September, ahead of schedule, and connect large industrial areas in the interior of the country to the South China Sea.
China is about to inaugurate the Canal Pinglua 134.2-kilometer waterway connecting the Xijin Reservoir on the Yu River in Hengzhou to the Gulf of Tonkin, known locally as the Beibu Gulf, across the Qin River in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
With a budget of 72.7 billion yuan, about 9 billion eurosthe work is expected to begin experimental operations in September, coinciding with the 23rd China-ASEAN Exhibition in Nanning.
The new canal is a monumental engineering feat, carved over four years through difficult mountainous terrain. When it is in operation, it is expected that more load per year than that which was moved through the Panama Canal in its first decade.
Construction began in August 2022, and, according to , the opening to regular navigation should occur before the end of 2026. It will be the first canal built in the country since 1949 connect an inland river to the sea.
The channel is a essential part of the New International Trade Corridor Land-Sea, which transforms less wealthy inland regions of western and central China into export centers with direct access to the sea.
The new infrastructure shortens by more than 560 kilometers the route of ships to the ocean. The inaugural route will link Nanning directly to Yangpu portin Hainan, allowing 5,000-ton freighters to bypass congested east coast ports and access international shipping routes more quickly.
To overcome a 65 meter drop in levelthe project includes three cascade lock complexes, located in Madao, Qishi and Qingnian. These locks function as gigantic hydraulic systemsallowing ships to move between different water levels. The Madao complex has the largest internal water-saving lock in the world, capable of recycling 60% of water used during operation.
According to , at the end of April the builders had already completed 27 bridges along the routea number that includes both newly constructed walkways and renovated structures. Currently, preliminary filling tests are taking place at specific points along the canal.
Regional authorities estimate that the continued operation of this intermodal network reduce local transport costs at around 5.2 billion yuan, around 660 million eurosper year.
The destination of the first route is crucial because, at the end of 2025, Hainan implemented a customs system designed to enforce lower import tariffs to the national standard.
In an article published in April, local newspaper Guangxi Daily explained the need for iphysical infrastructures that linked this fiscal regime to the continent: “Hainan Island has limited capacity on its own, which makes it difficult to carry out large-scale, clustered development without the support of a broader economic backbone.”
This restructuring coincides with a profound change in the country’s commercial dynamics, notes the . Chinese exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased by 13.4% last year.
Over the same period, exports to the United States fell by 20% due to persistent trade tensions. By drastically reducing transport times, the channel consolidates this rotation of logistics flows towards Asian markets.
