Efforts fuel strong growth of transportation network

As a major transportation hub in China, Wuhan has a robust network composed of railways, ferries and flights stretching to domestic and international destinations, but the city refuses to rest on its laurels as it further refines its transportation infrastructure.

In recent years, Wuhan has achieved impressive results in its transportation network expansion and improvement.

According to the Hubei Provincial Department of Transport, Wuhan has five sea-rail intermodal transportation demonstration projects, ranking first in the country.

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport has 15 regular international airfreight routes, which can reach four continents.

In May 2021, a new route between Wuhan and Mexico City was launched. It is regarded as the first regular airfreight route to be operated between China and Mexico, which helps to improve the efficiency of logistics between China and Latin America. 

Regarding freight train services, Wuhan launched a freight train loaded with tons of bicycles, household appliances and fabrics from Wujiashan Station in May 2021, to Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The train arrived in Kazakhstan within 12 days, which was the first outbound train linking Wuhan and the Central Asian country.

In terms of sea-river container shipment, a direct container shipping route that connects Wuhan with cities in Japan officially opened in 2019.

In December 2020, the route linked up with the China-Europe freight train routes, establishing a journey time of 22 days from Japan to Europe.

The first quarter of this year has seen a surge in throughput using the route, as Busan Port in South Korea was set as an intermediate port on the route and added more connectivity.

As of April, Wuhan is home to 295 A-level logistics enterprises, topping the country.

"Wuhan has particularly convenient transportation, which provides fertile ground for logistics enterprises to grow," said Shi Jun, secretary-general of the Wuhan Logistics Association, adding that logistics giants, such as JD Logistics, SF Express and Ane Logistics, have set up outlets in Wuhan.

By 2025, Wuhan aims to integrate into the "Global 1-2-3 Logistics Circle" plan, in which express package delivery will only take one day within China, two days to neighboring countries, and three days to major global cities, said a local official.

For automobile traffic, Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is one of the city's arteries. It is a 1,670-meter bridge that opened to traffic in 1957 and is a witness to the city's rapid growth.

Over the years, its builder, Wuhan-based China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group, has designed and built more than 2,000 bridges at home and abroad, with a total mileage of over 2,000 kilometers.

According to a government plan issued in March, by 2025, Wuhan's sea-rail intermodal transportation capacity will reach 2.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units, the number of international and regional passenger and freight routes from Wuhan is expected to reach 80, and the railway operation mileage will reach 1,000 km.