Pinglu Canal Opens to Navigation, Tourism Brand Outlook

Key points

• The Pinglu Canal was completed and opened to navigation on September 16, with four passenger routes launched the same day.
• The canal is 134.2 km long, built to inland waterway Class I standards and navigable by 5,000-tonne vessels.
• It provides the shortest, most economical and convenient sea access for southwest and northwest China, changing Guangxi's history of being coastal but not connected to both river and sea.
• The article suggests upholding cultural roots as the soul of the canal tourism brand, integrating Lingnan water-town, Beibu Gulf maritime and Zhuang ethnic minority cultures.
• It proposes highlighting an ecological, technological and global foundation, leveraging ecological corridors and Chinese and world firsts in engineering.
• It recommends all-round innovation in positioning, products, formats, communication and operations to build a long-term tourism brand system.