A bird's-eye view of Xiasha Port. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

On July 30, around 11 am, an unmanned container truck carrying a standard container docked at its designated spot. A crane then carefully lifted the container onto the Zhejiang Port Inland 015 ship. This marked a milestone for the one-year-old Xiasha Port, as it surpassed a throughput of 100,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), with 45,000 TEUs attributed to international exports.

Xiasha Port, a crucial node on the Hangzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal's second channel, is Hangzhou's first 1,000-ton inland port. "Surpassing 100,000 TEUs in throughput marks a significant leap in the capabilities of inland port hubs in Hangzhou, enhancing the advantages of sea-river combined transport and supporting local economic growth," said an official from Hangzhou Port Group.

According to Hangzhou Port Group, the first half of this year saw a container throughput of 126,000 TEUs, a 22-percent year-on-year increase, with export containers reaching 37,000 TEUs, up 129.6 percent. Xiasha Port contributed 52,000 TEUs to this total. In June, the port set a monthly record with 11,194 TEUs handled and 4,849 TEUs for foreign trade exports.

Since its opening, Xiasha Port has launched eight domestic and international container routes, including Xiasha-Jiaxing-Ningbo, Xiasha-Taicang-Jining, Xiasha-Taicang-Chongqing, and Xiasha-Jiaxing-Wenzhou.

"We have achieved daily service with an average of eight inland container trips per day. Our vessel loading rate at Ningbo Port exceeds 99.5 percent, meeting export businesses' transportation needs," said Li Zhichun, deputy general manager of Hangzhou Xiasha Port Development Co. Since its establishment, Xiasha Port has expanded its service from 367 to 635 foreign trade enterprises, covering regions such as Qiantang, Linping, Xiaoshan, and surrounding areas like Shaoxing and Haining.

A crane lifts a container from the truck. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]