The Pinglu Canal, a backbone project of the Western Land‑Sea New Corridor,
opened to navigation this morning (Sept. 16). Construction began on Aug. 28,
2022; the 134.2 km inland waterway was built to inland waterway Class I standard
and can carry 5,000‑ton vessels, the highest domestic navigational grade. The
canal runs from the Pingtang River mouth in the Xijin Reservoir area of Hengzhou
(Nanning) south through Luxu Town, Lingshan County, Qinzhou, and along the Qin
River to the Beibu Gulf, with three cascading hub complexes at Madao, Qishi and
Qingnian. Project developers say the scheme sets four global records among
comparable canals and locks: strongest navigational capacity, fastest lock
transit speed, highest head for a water‑saving inland lock and largest
water‑saving inland lock by scale.
