A delegation from Zhanjiang in Guangdong paid a visit to Hainan's Haikou off its southern coast from Oct 23 to 24, to learn from Haikou's experience of opening and running its new Haikou port.

Zhanjiang and Haikou government officials discuss the co-administration in Qiongzhou Strait transportation at a meeting in Haikou on Oct 24. [Photo by Wang Bo/zjphoto.yinsha.com]

Zhanjiang and Hainan work together to administer both passenger and cargo transport across the Qiongzhou Strait, a narrow body of water which separates Hainan from the mainland.

The Zhanjiang delegation, led by Transport Bureau Director, Fu Xian, exchanged ideas on how to better administer the strait, with Haikou's transport, port and ship bureau.

The visit came in response to the Guangdong and Hainan governments' call to speed up and improve joint operations at a conference held on Sept 28.

Delegates from Zhanjiang Transport Bureau tour the dispatch and directing center of Haikou New Port. [Photo by Wang Bo/zjphoto.yinsha.com]

The Qiongzhou Strait is one of three vital straits in China and connects Hainan Island to inland cities. With a large passenger, vehicle, and cargo flow, it is often dubbed the "gold waterway".

Hainan's Haikou Port, which opened on Dec 25, 2015, has introduced a vast infrastructure upgrade. It has a cargo-passenger ro-ro (roll on/roll off) terminal, and 18 ship berths ranging in size from 3,000 to 10,000 tonnagess. The port's annual handling capacity has risen to more than three million cargo vessels and two million passengers.

The two sides discussed ways to improve safety and operation management across the terminals which operate in the Qiongzhou Strait. Transport hub development was also discussed, along with further integration and cooperation on the administrative front.

Since 2013, regular ferries have sailed back and forth across the Qiongzhou Strait and improved the transport services. To ensure an orderly business, a new system of joint supervision of government and enterprises was implemented in August this year.

In addition, a new port in Xuwen county in Zhanjiang is under construction and is set to connect withthe Haikou New Port by the end of 2018.