China's Pinglu Canal, a backbone project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in the west, officially opened to navigation on Sept 16. Construction of the 134.2 km canal began on Aug 28, 2022, built to a Class I inland waterway standard capable of accommodating 5,000-tonne vessels, making it the highest-grade navigable canal in the country. Running from the Pingtang River mouth in the Xijin reservoir area of Hengzhou city, Nanning, in the north to the Beibu Gulf via Qintang town, Lingshan county, Qinzhou, the canal features three cascade hubs — Madao, Qishi and Qingnian — and set four world records, including the strongest navigable capacity and fastest lock navigation speed among canals of its kind, the highest water-saving lock drop and the largest inland water-saving lock scale in the world.