Ningbo Customs officers supervise intermodal operations. [Photo by Xiang Lianmei for Ningbo Daily]

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province opened a fresh inland-to-ocean gateway on Aug 18.

The giant port — which spans the coastal cities of Ningbo and Zhoushan in Zhejiang province — did so by launching the inaugural Yiwu (Suxi)-Ningbo-Zhoushan-Aden sea-rail intermodal service. On the day, it handled 100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers holding daily consumer goods that were bound for Yemen.

The new service links rail and sea in a single, seamless chain. The cargo departed Suxi station in Yiwu, Zhejiang province by train, arrived at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and was transferred directly onto a Hong Kong-based carrier's vessel for Aden.

Marketed as a "one-click, end-to-end" logistics experience, the corridor is designed to cut consignment handovers and to shorten door-to-port times.

"Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is an important gateway for 'Made in Yiwu' products," said Chen Hengde, general manager of Yiwu Yidan Commodity Purchasing Co Ltd.

"We ship more than 20 TEUs a week via sea-rail. Thanks to strong timeliness and stability, procedures from declarations to loadings are completed in one go; costs are lower and the turnaround is faster, which makes us more competitive on the international market," Chen added.

Cheng Zuohuan, general manager of Yiwu Kunde Supply Chain Management Co Ltd, said efficiency was paramount.

"Export cargo can complete pre-clearance and pre-loading in Yiwu, with port formalities handled simultaneously — customs clearance time has been cut by 50 percent," he added.

By unblocking the "inland port–coastal hub" chain, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port's hinterland reach will extend deeper inland, advancing a trade model of "port-rail linkage and sea-land complementarity".

Moving forwards, Ningbo plans to accelerate new corridors such as the Yiwu-Ningbo-Port Said West in Egypt service and to pilot export logistics paths that are high-efficiency, low-cost and service-oriented.