How many records can one canal break?

China's Pinglu Canal, which opens to navigation on September 16, holds multiple national and world records. 🔹 China's newest major canal — the first canal project since the founding of the People's Republic of China to be built under national-level coordination to connect a river with the sea. 🔹 One of the world's strongest inland waterways — designed for vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes.

Compared with traditional routes, it cuts more than 560 kilometers of inland shipping distance and is expected to save more than 5 billion yuan (US$745 million) in transportation costs each year. 🔹 China's largest transport project by earthwork volume — about 315 million cubic meters of earth and rock have been excavated, nearly three times the earthwork volume of the Three Gorges Project.

And at Madao Junction, two more records stand out: 🔹 The world's highest inland water-saving ship lock by lift — the maximum elevation difference reaches 29.6 meters, roughly the height of a 10-story building. 🔹 The world's largest inland water-saving ship lock — the lock chamber is 300 meters long and 34 meters wide, about the size of 1.5 standard football fields.

Located in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the canal creates a new direct shipping route from southwest China to the sea, opening a shorter path for goods from the region to reach global markets.