Prosperity lies in transportation throughout the ages.

Recently, Jinan's transportation network has been marked by significant milestones: the successful trial navigation of Xiaoqing River, the commencement of the first phase of Qizhou Yellow River Bridge project, the complete track laying of the Shandong section of Jinan-Zhengzhou High-Speed Railway, and the accelerated construction of the second phase expansion project of Jinan International Airport.

Today Jinan has achieved smoother connectivity with the world via comprehensive efforts in river, land and air transportation. Various elements of development circulate and converge within the multidimensional transportation network, providing abundant impetus for the "Jinan vessel" to set sail and accumulate vigorous driving force for its development.

Restore navigation: Jinan connects with the world

As the sun sets, the "Luqing 001" trial navigation ship slowly enters the harbor. After a hiatus of 26 years, Xiaoqing River has once again restore navigation. Originating in Jinan during the early years of the South Song Dynasty, the river once brought prosperity to the city's trade and commerce. Today, the river is reviving its past splendor, providing an "outlet to the sea" for goods entering and leaving Jinan, transforming the inland city into a "coastal city."

Shifting our gaze from Xiaoqing River, we look to the north at the Yellow River. The major national strategies for ecological conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin have propelled Jinan from the "Daming Lake era" into the "Yellow River era." Bridges and tunnels crossing the Yellow River have commenced construction one after another, facilitating communication between the north and south of the great river and transforming a natural barrier into a smooth passageway.

At the construction site of the second phase expansion project of Jinan International Airport, the project is also progressing rapidly. Designed to achieve a passenger throughput of 55 million and a cargo throughput of 520,000 tons by 2035, this project integrates airport, high-speed rail, rail transit, expressways, and urban arterial roads, aiming to create a domestically leading and internationally first-class modern aviation hub.

Currently, Jinan provides direct access to 326 cities nationwide with 510 high-speed train routes. The accelerated construction of Jinan-Zhengzhou High-Speed Railway further clarifies the "stellate" shaped high-speed rail network in Jinan. The expressway network is forming at a faster pace, connecting the city internally and externally. Following the successful trial navigation, the official opening of Xiaoqing River for navigation is just around the corner.

Circulation: Jinan accelerates its progress

For a city, the transportation network serves as its economic circulatory system. In terms of industries, transportation, warehousing, and postal services hold a significant position within the city's economic scale.

In the first quarter of 2023, the transportation, warehousing, and postal services in Jinan achieved an added value of 15.425 billion yuan with a year-on-year growth of 4.9%, accounting for 5.6% of the regional GDP. The road transport industry accounted for 46.05% of the added value in transportation, warehousing, and postal services, followed by the aviation transport industry at 17.03% and the railway transport industry at 11.57%.

With more transportation channels becoming accessible, the city's transportation and logistics industry will reach new heights. The well-connected transportation network provides inherent advantages for the development of the logistics industry.

In 2022, Jinan had 19 national 5A-level logistics enterprises, surpassing similar cities nationwide. There were 316 large-scale logistics enterprises with a total operating income of 88.35 billion yuan. For four consecutive years, the logistics industry attracted investments exceeding 10 billion yuan, and internationally renowned companies, such as Amway from the United States and Prologis from Singapore, as well as industry benchmark enterprises like JD.com, Cainiao, and ZTO Express, have successively settled in Jinan.

Since the launching of China Eurasian Freight on 4, August, 2017, it has served over 3000 import and export foreign trade companies.It has played an essential role in stabilizing the foreign trade and investment.

“The transportation network connects all directions” is one of the ten development advantages of Jinan. This advantage has provided vast convenience to resources integration and flow, high efficiency for companies, stronger vitality for development and impetus of urban development.

Opening up: Jinan embraces the world

Jinan is a city connected by roads running north to south and east to west. It links to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Economic Zone in the north and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in the south. It also connects the Shandong Peninsula and the Central Plains Economic Zone to the east and west, serving as an important intersection in the Bohai Sea Economic Zone and the Beijing-Shanghai Economic Axis. It is also a central city in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, with tremendous potential for openness and outward-oriented economy.

In 2022, Jinan optimized its assessment system for attracting investment and further strengthened its efforts in attracting investment. The actual utilization of foreign capital reached 3.14 billion US dollars, an 18% increase compared to the previous year.

The journey of openness is not yet complete. This year, Jinan has proposed to continuously improve and enhance its open system. It aims to strengthen the functions of international land ports, promote the construction of the "Qilu Express" Eurasian freight train (Jinan) assembly center, and increase the annual operation of China-Europe freight trains to over 800. It is accelerating the expansion and renovation of the second phase of the international airport, with an expected annual passenger and cargo throughput of 13 million people and 144,000 tons. It is also improving the policy sharing and coordinated opening mechanisms in the Jinan area of the Pilot Free Trade Zone and promoting collaborative innovation between the comprehensive bonded zone and the development zone.

By connecting with the world, communicating with the world, and embracing the world, the various transportation channels have brought Jinan closer to the world and expanded its urban development space. The "Jinan vessel" sailing against the wind and waves, is sounding its horn and accelerating towards a brighter future.

(Journalists: Yuan Yuhua, Hua Shan, Hou Yawen, Li Xiaotong)