GUANGZHOU, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) — According to an announcement on the 9th from the Pearl River Navigation Administration (PRNA) of the Ministry of Transport, navigation on the Xijiang (West River) shipping trunk line remained stable and orderly during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period in 2025. The key node, the Changzhou ship lock, cumulatively allowed the passage of 2,942 vessels and 5.3359 million tons of cargo.
During the holiday period, the Pearl River basin faced successive challenges from typhoons and floods. Under the frequent influence of dual typhoons and heavy rainfall, 44 rivers experienced water levels exceeding the warning stage. The Yujiang River successively experienced its No. 1 and No. 2 numbered floods of the year, posing severe challenges to the navigation support work for the Xijiang shipping trunk line.
Facing the complex situation, the PRNA implemented the Ministry of Transport’s work deployment for holiday safety production and service support. It fully utilized the coordinated linkage mechanism, acted promptly upon the “flood situation,” employed scientific scheduling and multiple measures, effectively ensuring the safety, smoothness, and order of navigation on the major Xijiang water transport channel during the holiday.
It is reported that the PRNA relied on three major mechanisms: the Navigation Guarantee and Smooth Flow Mechanism for the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line, the Coordinated Linkage Mechanism for Ensuring Smooth Flow of Vessels Awaiting Lock Transit, and the Coordinated Linkage Mechanism for Flood Control, Drought Relief, and Typhoon Prevention. It strengthened coordination and cooperation with departments and units responsible for transport, port shipping, maritime affairs, water resources, power, and ship lock operations. Through in-depth analysis and judgment of the situation, enhanced monitoring of waterway and key ship lock operations, coordinated scientific optimization of ship lock scheduling, and timely adjustment of navigation control measures, it ensured the efficient operation of the water transport channel.
The PRNA enhanced monitoring and early warning, closely tracked dynamics of rainfall, water conditions, and wind conditions, and supervised ship lock operating units to strictly implement flood and typhoon prevention measures. It strengthened duty shifts and information reporting, effectively preventing and mitigating various risks and hidden dangers brought by typhoons and heavy rainfall.
Furthermore, on the basis of ensuring navigation safety, the PRNA steadily advanced the emergency dredging project construction for the Changzhou Line 1 and Line 2 ship locks. It guided the optimization of construction organization design, arranged construction periods reasonably, improved the navigation guarantee plan during the construction period, and promoted the early start of construction for the project.
Currently, the Xijiang River basin is gradually entering the transition period from flood season to dry season. The PRNA will continue to leverage the role of the coordinated linkage mechanism, strengthen analysis and optimization of scheduling, coordinate and arrange ship lock maintenance shutdowns, continuously enhance the service support capacity of the major Xijiang water transport channel, and promote the high-quality development of Pearl River water transport through high-quality navigation guarantee and smooth flow work. (End)
