Known as "an ancient city on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal", Jining in Shandong province has given full play to its geographical advantages to develop its shipping and logistics industry, with its shipping capacity topping the 12 port cities along the Grand Canal.

The city has been accelerating channel upgrading and infrastructure construction at its ports with the aim of expanding the annual throughput of Jining Port to 100 million tons in three to five years and transforming Jining into an inland river shipping hub in North China.

In addition, Jining has been developing an operating mode that combines rail-water shipping, ports and industrial parks.

Taking advantages of port functions, an industrial belt involving logistics, advanced manufacturing clusters, food processing, commodity trade and information services has been formed and turned into a pilot area for new and old kinetic energy conversion.

The city has also encouraged port operators to cooperate with industrial giants, high-tech companies and universities to promote the application of information technology like internet of things and big data in the shipping industry to enhance logistics efficiency.