For years, the region"s major rivers mainly flowed eastward toward the Pearl River Delta, while the lack of a direct north-south waterway limited links between the inland hinterland and the Beibu Gulf. The Pinglu Canal changes that geography by providing a direct river-to-sea route to the gulf and, from there, international markets, Ge Hongliang, the director of China-ASEAN Maritime Security Research Center at Guangxi Minzu University, told the Global Times.

　　The 6,000-kilometer tourism road network is being developed alongside this new waterway, creating a complementary land-and-water system, according to the plan.

　　Unlike the canal, which is designed primarily for large-volume, long-distance freight, tourism roads can reach smaller towns, villages, scenic areas and industrial sites, Ge said. The planned routes are expected to connect canal hubs, industrial parks, distinctive villages and coastal attractions, creating both tourism routes and short-distance distribution links for agricultural and local products, he added.

　　In practical terms, the canal provides a long-distance waterway backbone, while the roads can extend that connectivity into towns, villages and scenic areas. Together, the two systems could link Nanning with other parts of Guangxi more closely while giving local tourism resources and specialty products better access to larger markets, Ge said.

　　For tourism, that could mean a visitor arriving in Nanning is no longer limited to the city itself. The same journey could extend to landscapes along the Pinglu Canal, rural destinations in northern Guangxi, the mountains around Guilin or the coastal scenery of the Beibu Gulf, local authorities told the Global Times.