Explore the Century's Engineering, Spreading the "Water Charm of Eight Guilin"

The thousand-year-old Lingqu Canal, connecting the Yangtze River and Pearl River water systems, brought Central Plains culture gracefully southward while transporting Lingnan products northward. The century project of the Pinglu Canal, cutting through mountains to meet the sea, allows Guangxi's waters to flow to the ocean, linking the southwestern hinterlands to the deep blue sea. On October 19, the "Waterway China—Exploring Guangxi from the Water" all-media interview and research activity started in Guilin. The interview and research team, composed of central media such as Xinhua News Agency, industry media, local mainstream media, renowned writers, internet celebrities, youth representatives from Guangxi universities and the transportation system, will follow a waterway civilization route spanning over two thousand years to uncover the story of Guangxi's high-quality waterway development.

The interview and research activity specially features a themed interview titled "Young Hubs Visiting Young People." Young representatives serve as both witnesses and narrators, making the century project tangible and relatable through youthful expression. During the activity, the interview and research team will trace the Lingqu Canal downriver, visiting Guilin's Li River, the "Beautiful Waterway," Guangxi's integrated river-sea waterway dispatch platform, the Ma Dao Hub of the Pinglu Canal, the automated port at Qinzhou, and other iconic points of Guangxi's waterway transportation.

Connecting rivers to the sea and demonstrating maritime strength, Guangxi has, since the beginning of this year, anchored to the "15th Five-Year Plan" outline, focusing on "one network and four modernizations" to carry out key tasks, aiming to build a modern inland waterway system and an international gateway port in the Beibu Gulf. From January to September this year, Guangxi's waterway transportation reached a cumulative passenger volume of 8.5 million trips, passenger turnover of 3.22 billion passenger-kilometers, freight volume of 374 million tons, and cargo turnover of 228.3 billion ton-kilometers. The region's ports achieved a cumulative cargo throughput of 545 million tons and container throughput of 8.6 million TEU. The Changzhou Hub ship lock handled cargo volumes exceeding 160 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.17%.

It is reported that the "Waterway China—Exploring Guangxi from the Water" activity is hosted by China Transportation News, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Transportation, and China Ship News, and organized by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Waterway Development Center. At the launch event, China Transportation News and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Transportation jointly initiated the "Oral History Collection Project on the Historic Achievements and Transformations of Guangxi’s Waterway in the New Era," and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Waterway Development Center promoted the "Baguixing Shuiyun" cultural brand.

The "Waterway China" all-media publicity campaign has already taken place in the East China Sea and South China Sea and will further explore the Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea, Yangtze River, and Pearl River. By focusing lenses on major rivers and oceans, the campaign comprehensively showcases the practical achievements of China's high-quality waterway development. Its influence has extended overseas, with related reports reprinted by multiple foreign media outlets.