Where rivers meet the sea, port operations are in full swing. During the National Day holiday, ports across the country saw giant vessels coming and going with busy loading and unloading, driving the rapid movement of both domestic and international trade cargo.

On the coast of the East China Sea, four giant container ships lined up in formation, with fully automated bridge cranes precisely lifting and lowering containers while over a hundred automated guided vehicles silently shuttled back and forth. In the first three days of the National Day holiday, the Phase IV automated terminal at Yangshan Deep-Water Port of the Shanghai International Shipping Center handled a cumulative total of over 79,000 TEUs, up 18.7% compared to the same period last year; the estimated total for the full seven-day holiday exceeded 180,000 TEUs. "The entire process of vessel berthing and departure, cargo loading and unloading, and route connections is intelligently coordinated, maximizing the throughput capacity of the port area," said Huang Hua, chief remote operator at Shangdong Branch of Shanghai International Port Group.

As a key hub connecting domestic and international dual circulation, ports can be described as a "barometer" of economic development. In the first eight months of this year, China's total goods trade imports and exports grew 17.6% year-on-year; port cargo throughput reached 12.06 billion tonnes, with foreign trade throughput up 2.8% year-on-year.

Along the Beibu Gulf, freight trains shuttle back and forth; at the Qinzhou Port area, cargo ships line up in rows... During the National Day holiday, the automated container terminal at Qinzhou Port in Guangxi maintained 24-hour continuous operations, with throughput estimated to reach 45,000 TEUs from October 1 to 7. On September 16, the Pinglu Canal officially opened to navigation, and the "circle of friends" in this maritime area expanded accordingly: iron ore and auto parts from Yunnan and Guizhou traveled south via rail-water intermodal transport to ASEAN; coal and bauxite from Guinea and Laos traveled north along the canal into the southwestern hinterland. "The sea voyage has been greatly shortened. Recently, we've added many new clients from Guigang, Nanning, and Baise in Guangxi, as well as from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan," said Zhang Minghe, deputy manager of the Operations Department at Honggang Terminal Co., Ltd. of Guangxi Qinzhou Bonded Port Area.

Turning to the northeast, on the afternoon of October 7, the Ocean Alliance Europe route vessel "Oriental Sweden" steadily docked at the Dalian Container Terminal in Liaoning, with seven loading and unloading lines operating simultaneously. Dalian Container Terminal Co., Ltd. handles over 98% of foreign trade container traffic in Northeast China and opened five new foreign trade routes this year. "Within a berthing window of less than 20 hours, we need to complete nearly 4,900 TEUs of loading and unloading," said Qiu Li, duty manager of the Operations Department at Dalian Container Terminal Co., Ltd. During the National Day holiday, container terminal operations remained at a high level, with total loading and unloading volume estimated to grow about 20% year-on-year. "There is grain destined for southern provinces, as well as precision instruments, complete vehicles, and equipment components headed for Europe."

During the National Day holiday, port upgrades never stopped. At Shanghai Port's third automated terminal, construction of the Xiaoyangshan North Operation Area project was in full swing, with all five automated shore bridges in place. Qin Tao, deputy commander of the Engineering Command at Shanghai International Port Group, said this brand-new automated terminal will iteratively upgrade the new-generation smart operations management system for automated terminals independently developed by Shanghai International Port Group. At the Qinzhou Port automated container terminal, five 5,000-tonne-class river-sea intermodal automated container berths are under simultaneous construction, with large tunneling machinery roaring without pause. Before long, river vessels from the Pinglu Canal will be able to berth alongside sea-going vessels, and cargo will achieve "water-to-water transfer with direct unloading and loading" through gantry cranes, belt conveyors, floating cranes, and other equipment, reducing the need for ground placement and warehousing, greatly boosting efficiency.

Nationwide, 60 automated terminals have been built and put into operation, including 30 automated container terminals, accounting for 27% of the global total. The automated terminals at Shanghai Port and Shandong Qingdao Port have achieved a maximum single-crane operating efficiency exceeding 60 natural containers per hour, and the average time in port for international container vessels at major coastal ports stands at 1.7 days.