Zhejiang Ningbo Zhoushan Port promotes green and digital-intelligent transformation
Equipped with a “smart brain”, port operations become more efficient
On May 11, at the Meishan Port Area of Zhejiang Ningbo Zhoushan Port, a container truck passed through an unmanned smart gate in just two seconds. The photovoltaic modules loaded on the truck took as little as half a day from entering the port to departing by sea.
Between the quay cranes and gantry cranes, unmanned intelligent container trucks and manned container trucks operated in an orderly mixed manner. The quay crane steadily placed the container onto the giant vessel, but the command was issued by a quay crane operator in a remote control room one kilometer away. No longer needing to climb up a narrow 50-meter-high operating cabin to work with their heads down, occupational diseases such as cervical spondylosis among quay crane operators have been greatly reduced.
At the Meishan Port Area, which has been in operation for over 15 years, high-tech is common. The rapid passage of container trucks benefits from the application of artificial intelligence visual recognition technology. The improvement in overall port operational efficiency is driven by the port’s “smart brain” system developed by Ningbo Zhoushan Port.
“The ‘smart brain’ commands the smart port, while the ‘left and right brains’ each perform their own duties, allowing the port to operate orderly,” said Zhao Chengjun, Manager of the First Technology R&D Department of Zhejiang Zhigangtong Technology Co., Ltd., who participated in the development. “The ‘left brain’ is the terminal operating system, responsible for the main process control of container business; the ‘right brain’ is the intelligent equipment dispatching system, responsible for dispatching operational equipment such as quay cranes, gantry cranes, and container trucks in the port area, providing optimal spatiotemporal solutions for port operations.”
All processes are reflected in real-time in the “Ningbo Zhoushan Port Digital Meishan Visualization System” at the Meishan Port Area Control Center. With the help of digital twin technology, ranging from the small details of container truck trajectories and container stacking positions to the full-chain intelligent operations of quay cranes and gantry cranes, the system’s accuracy in sensing various transport equipment and identifying abnormal events in the port area exceeds 98%.
More and more smart scenarios are taking root in the port. On the customs heavy container inspection platform, at the command of a customs officer, a quadruped robot dog began its patrol. Acting as a “photographer” for the containers, the robot dog uploaded photos taken with its onboard high-definition camera in real-time. Soon, high-definition images containing the container number and seal number appeared on the inspection operation system.
“This is the customs heavy container inspection auxiliary robot we introduced in cooperation with the port area and Unitree Technology. It features automatic patrol, container number recognition, and autonomous learning capabilities,” said Chen Yi, Deputy Section Chief of the Second Inspection Section of Meishan Customs under Ningbo Customs. “Previously, opening 118 containers required 4 to 6 customs officers working for over an hour. Now it only takes 20 minutes, greatly improving the efficiency of heavy container inspection.”
As a pioneering demonstration area for the smart port construction of Ningbo Zhoushan Port, the Meishan Port Area has achieved 100% electrification coverage of large equipment, over 80% electrification rate of internal container trucks, and over 96% success rate of automated operations for intelligent container trucks. These achievements are providing support for business entities to improve quality and efficiency.
“The company’s freight forwarding business continues to expand,” said Wang Hongbing, General Manager of Zhejiang Ganglianjie Logistics Technology Co., Ltd., discussing the changes brought by smart port construction. “Loading, unloading, and dispatching are more convenient; processes such as receiving goods, making documents, and customs declaration are smoother; and the cargo turnover rate is constantly being refreshed. In the past five years, the company’s average annual business growth has exceeded 30%.”
In 2025, the container throughput of Meishan Port Area exceeded 13 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 17.9%. “We will continue to research and develop green and intelligent advanced technologies, promote innovation and transformation of digital management models, and help the port achieve new breakthroughs in green and digital-intelligent transformation,” said Tao Chengbo, Chairman of Zhejiang Provincial Seaport Group and Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group.
People’s Daily (May 14, 2026, Edition 02)
