【一线调研】千里嘉陵“通关”记

CCTV.com reports (Xinwen Lianbo): Promoting high-standard connectivity among market facilities is an important measure in building a unified national market. The Jialing River, the Yangtze River's second-largest tributary, once faced the problem of being open to navigation but difficult to navigate smoothly. How can the development of a unified national market help this “golden waterway” deliver greater benefits? Here is our reporter's frontline investigation.

When the reporter arrived at Guangyuan Port in Sichuan on the upper reaches of the Jialing River, the scene was bustling.

Just a few years ago, however, Guangyuan Port was practically deserted. Some cargo owners would rather take a longer route by road than use the Jialing River.

Since the entire river had already opened to navigation, why were vessels still unable to operate smoothly?

In addition to navigation, each ship lock serves functions such as flood control, irrigation and hydropower generation. Tang Dawei, who is responsible for coordinating vessel navigation, drew a flowchart for the reporter. Because the ship locks were managed by different departments in Sichuan and Chongqing, simply collecting information on water levels and vessel conditions to arrange lock passage required contacting all 16 ship locks individually. Opinions then had to be sought, one by one, from the water resources, energy and other competent departments in both places.

After reflecting on these painful difficulties, the competent authorities in Sichuan and Chongqing resolved to break down the barriers. Previously, the 16 tiers of ship locks had each operated independently, unable to share information. The first step of the reform targeted data connectivity by establishing a unified information platform, enabling real-time sharing of waterway, hydrological and ship-lock data previously scattered among different operators. Vessels now need to make only one declaration to pass through all 16 ship locks.

New problems emerged, however. Because power generation and navigation require different water levels, vessels still frequently arrived to find the locks closed. At the Tingzikou water control complex, some vessels even had to wait seven days.

How could vessel navigation be made more efficient while ensuring flood control, irrigation and hydropower generation? More than ten departments from Sichuan and Chongqing sat down together to discuss establishing a joint scheduling mechanism across the provincial-level boundary.

All parties' water-use needs were put on the table. Transport departments calculated the minimum navigable water level for each tier of reservoirs, water resources departments determined the minimum downstream discharge for the river channel, and energy departments dynamically adjusted power generation plans according to navigation needs. After repeated rounds of consultation, a “greatest common denominator” was found among the water requirements for navigation, irrigation and power generation, and a complete set of joint scheduling procedures gradually took shape.

As the scheduling mechanism across provincial-level jurisdictions and departments has improved, Tang Dawei's flowchart has continued to grow shorter, and vessels' overall waiting time at locks has fallen by 50%. Now, opening a mobile app provides real-time access to water levels, weather and waterway charts, making a vessel's progress clear at a glance.

Today, more and more cargo owners and logistics companies are switching bulk commodities that previously left Sichuan by land to water transport along the Jialing River.

The benefits of this reform centered on building a unified national market are spreading and being realized along the Jialing River. In the Sichuan section, freight volume passing through the locks has hit a record high: the volume in 2025 alone exceeded the combined total for the preceding three years. Across the entire Jialing River basin, shipping companies' overall costs have fallen by 44%. Building materials, coal, grain, mineral materials and other goods are moving back and forth, as the potential of this “golden waterway” is being unlocked at an accelerating pace.