The timing is significant. Guangxi recently released its regional？15th Five-Year Plan for developing Guangxi into a strong tourism region, for building the region into a stronger tourism destination, calling for a gradual shift from sightseeing-oriented tourism toward leisure and vacation and more immersive travel by 2030.

　　The plan identifies Nanning as a tourism hub city for opening-up and cooperation with ASEAN, while calling for the development of distinctive tourism destinations in Xingning and Qingxiu districts, as well as Mashan and Shanglin counties.

　　The city is also expected to strengthen tourism links with Liuzhou, Guilin, Beihai and Laibin through north-south tourism corridors, while connecting with broader markets including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and ASEAN.

　　For Nanning, the question is no longer simply how to bring tourists to individual attractions, but how to keep them moving through - and staying in - a wider region.

　　The newly opened Pinglu Canal adds another dimension to that strategy.

　　A road-and-river link

　　At Pingtang village in Hengzhou, Nanning, where the Pinglu Canal begins, the landscape offers a striking contrast to the busy urban center. Green hills rise around the water, while a cargo vessel loaded with goods moves slowly downstream.

　　The 134.2-kilometer Pinglu Canal runs from Hengzhou through Lingshan in Qinzhou before reaching the Beibu Gulf. Built at a cost of 72.7 billion yuan ($10.75 billion), it can accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 tons and opened to navigation on September 16.

　　For cargo from Southwest China, the canal shortens the inland waterway journey to the sea by about 560 kilometers compared with traditional routes through Guangdong.

　　But its significance for Nanning and Guangxi goes beyond freight, experts noted.