NANNING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- From a viewing platform above the ship lock at the Madao Junction in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, foreign delegates watched as water filled one of the world's largest inland lock chambers.
The structure is designed to raise or lower vessels to overcome a maximum water-level difference of 29.6 meters. It is part of the newly opened Pinglu Canal, a 134.2-km waterway linking the Xijiang River system in southern China with the Beibu Gulf, the closest maritime outlet for much of southwest China.
For many of the delegates attending the World Canals Conference 2026 that concludes Thursday, the scale was simply striking.
Edith Bronder, an expert on China's canals who has studied waterways in China and overseas, said she had encountered no comparable project elsewhere. Sharon Leighton, president of Inland Waterways International (IWI), called the canal "history in the making."
Their visit on Monday is part of the conference agenda. The four-day gathering has brought together representatives from canal cities, universities, research institutions and waterway organizations in more than 20 countries and regions.
Themed "Innovation and Perseverance: A Crucial Choice," the event places two Guangxi waterways at the center of its discussions: the 2,200-year-old Lingqu Canal and the Pinglu Canal, which opened to shipping last month.
"Canals are not simply artifacts of the past," Leighton said at the opening ceremony of the conference. "They are living infrastructure, living landscapes and influential heritage assets."
Weng Xiaobing, an official with the Water Transport Bureau of China's Ministry of Transport, said the country's water transport sector is at a critical point in its shift from large-scale infrastructure construction toward a greater focus on quality, efficiency, integration and innovation.
That transition is visible in Guangxi, where a waterway built over 2,200 years ago now shares the conference agenda with the country's newest river-to-sea canal.
Completed in 214 B.C. under Emperor Qinshihuang, the Lingqu Canal was originally built to carry provisions for the Qin army during its military campaign in southern China. By linking the Xiangjiang and Lijiang rivers, the 36.4-km canal opened a navigable route between the Yangtze and Pearl River systems.
Though roads and railways replaced the canal as a major freight route, Lingqu still supports irrigation, local water supplies and tourism. Restoration work has repaired historic structures, improved sewage collection and helped secure dry-season water supplies.
The Lingqu scenic area received more than 1 million tourist visits in 2025, according to local authorities.
The Pinglu Canal tackles a longstanding challenge: getting cargo from inland production centers to the coast despite mountains and winding river routes.
Built at an estimated cost of 72.7 billion yuan (10.8 billion U.S. dollars), the canal provides parts of southwestern China with a more direct route to domestic and overseas markets. It shortens the journey to the sea by more than 560 km compared with routes through neighboring Guangdong, and official estimates suggest logistics costs could be slashed by 18 to 30 percent.
Last month, Nanning Port, previously an inland river port with no direct waterway link to the Beibu Gulf, handled 668,400 tonnes of cargo, up 145 percent year on year, as shipments began using the new canal, port authorities said.
Other supporting infrastructure is also expanding. A railway spur serving the industrial complex near Nanning Port is under construction. Designed to handle 3.2 million tonnes of cargo annually, it is scheduled for completion in August 2027, according to Beibu Gulf Port Group.
"The Pinglu Canal introduces a new chapter in the long story of populations using waterways to connect and create opportunity," said Leighton, the IWI president. "It incorporates the engineering, knowledge and technology of our era and is carefully designed to ensure tangible benefits for generations to come." ■
