A vessel sails along the Pinglu Canal near the Madao hub. Photo: Courtesy of Pinglu Canal Group

　　The newly opened Pinglu Canal in South China"s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has become a focal point of discussion for industry experts from home and abroad at the ongoing World Canals Conference 2026 (WCC) in Guilin, Guangxi, as many hailed the canal"s economic value, engineering feats and ecological contribution.

　　The conference runs from Monday to Friday in Guilin. Notably, this year"s event closely follows the recent opening of the Pinglu Canal, which is also located in the autonomous region in South China.

　　The 134.2-kilometer Pinglu Canal is the first canal planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949 to connect a river to the sea, and it opens up the shortest, most economical, and most convenient sea outlet for southwestern China.

　　It is a backbone project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor that connects with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and marks a major addition to the nation"s river network.

　　The project has set four world records among comparable canals: the highest navigation capacity, the fastest ship-lock transit speed, the highest lift for a water-saving ship lock, and the largest water-saving ship lock on an inland waterway.

　　As hundreds of canal experts from home and abroad gathered in Guilin, the Pinglu Canal"s engineering achievements as well as other features such as ecological protection, were constantly acknowledged by participants in the event.