Transport-Culture Tourism Integration Becomes New Growth Pole for China's Inland Shipping
Ding Li, secretary-general of the China Ports and Harbours Association, said on the 9th at a special forum of the Inland Shipping High-Quality Development Forum (2026) in Wuhan that China's premium waterway tourism passenger route system has basically taken shape, with transport-culture tourism integration becoming a new growth pole for inland shipping. China's inland passenger volume reached 130 million in 2025, with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hunan ranking top three. Regions are building waterway IPs around the Yangtze, Pearl River, Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and Min River, launching integrated products combining cruises, night tours, study travel, intangible heritage and waterfront consumption, a…
Impact and considerations
The integration of inland passenger transport and cultural-tourism products is scaling up, offering market signals for riverside cities, cruise operators and tourism investors on route development and tiered product design.
Key points
- Ding Li, secretary-general of the China Ports and Harbours Association, said at a special forum of the Inland Shipping High-Quality Development Forum (2026) in Wuhan on the 9th that the premium waterway tourism passenger route system has basically taken shape.
- China's inland passenger volume reached 130 million in 2025, with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hunan ranking top three.
- Cruise popularity continues to rise in cities including Wuhan, Yichang, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Harbin.
- Regions are building waterway IPs around the Yangtze, Pearl River, Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and Min River, launching integrated products combining cruises, night tours, study travel, intangible heritage and waterfront consumption.
- Pilot routes include the Wuhan-Yueyang-Jiujiang cultural tourism route and the Chongqing-Yichang Three Gorges premium tourism route.
- Inland vessels are shifting toward cultural-tourism comfort; electric passenger ships on the Pearl River's east channel have become a core Pearl River cruise type, and Heilongjiang has put cold-region autonomous cruise boats into service.
Sources and time
- Primary source
- 中国旅游新闻网
- Other sources
- 0
- First source publication
- 11 Sept 2026, 08:00
- Page published
- 12 Sept 2026, 00:09
- Last updated
- 11 Sept 2026, 08:00
- Original links
- China Tourism News：交通文旅融合成为中国内河航运新增长极-中国旅游新闻网Document (opens in a new tab)Primary source · zh · Published 11 Sept 2026, 08:00