A view of Ningbo Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

Ningbo Zhoushan Port handled 28.73 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this year as of 2:00 pm on Nov 26, more than last year's total volume.

The robust recovery of foreign trade in China has played a key role in fueling the growth of the port's container throughput.

In the first 10 months of this year, China's imports and exports registered a year-on-year increase of 22.2 percent. Zhejiang's foreign trade volume accounted for about 10 percent of the nation's total over the period.

To cope with the transportation pressure created by the growth of foreign trade, Ningbo Zhoushan Port has been actively expanding its shipping network.

To date, the port has launched a total of 287 shipping routes, an increase of 27 over the same period in 2020.

In addition, the sea-rail combined transport model, which refers to the mechanism where goods are first loaded onto trains to Ningbo before being transported overseas by sea, and vice versa, has bolstered the port's container business.

Ningbo Zhoushan port has opened freight train routes to 61 prefecture cities in 16 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the nation thus far.

It has also inaugurated a special port area in Yiwu. Goods transported by rail lines to the port area in Yiwu can undergo custom clearance procedures before being shipped overseas at Ningbo Zhoushan Port. 

Efforts to facilitate the digitalization of the port's operations have contributed to its development.

In the port area operated by Ningbo Meidong Container Terminal Co Ltd, more than 2.6 million TEUs were handled by automated means so far this year, accounting for more than 40 percent of the total.