The different shipping routes to China
Shipping to China is the gateway to the world’s largest consumer market.
Before finalizing the details of your sea freight to China, you need to choose between a full container load (FCL) or a shared container load (LCL).
In turn, the growth of Chinese foreign trade has increased exponentially over the last 15 years. That is why the Chinese coast is equipping itself with a huge number of cutting-edge commercial ports, capable of absorbing the constant flow of goods arriving and leaving the country.
Below, we list the most important ports.
- Shanghai Port
The port of Shanghai is currently managed by the Shanghai International Port Group, a public company controlled by the municipal authorities. It has been the busiest commercial port in the world since 2010, having exceeded 35 million TEUs handled per year in 2014.
It is a sea and river port, composed, in turn, of three other ports: Wusongkuo, Waigaoqiao and the deep water port of Yangshan. In addition, it has a large number of terminals, including Coal Branch (coal, sand and gravel transportation), Zhanghuabang Company (steel, iron, heavy goods and container transportation) and Baoshan Terminal Branch (general and bulk cargo), among other.
- Port of Ningbo
The Port of Ningbo has played a key role in decongesting the Port of Shanghai.
It is located in the center of the Chinese coast to the south of Shanghai and is the exit platform for all the merchandise that is exported from Zhejiang, the second most important province in the country.
Its merger with the port of Zhoushan has meant a combined management capacity of 17 million TEUs in past years. It has 309 berths and a total of 5 zones or terminals: Beilun Port Area, Zhenhai Port Area, Ningbo Port Area, Daxie Port Area and Chuanshan Port Area.
- Hong Kong Port
Currently, the port of Hong Kong functions as a link between Asia and the Western world. The legislative differences with respect to mainland China allow it to receive the traffic of all those goods whose documentation may imply some type of conflict between the Chinese authorities and the importing or exporting country.
- Shenzhen Port
Located south of the Pearl River Delta in Guandong province, is the port of Shenzhen. It stretches along 260 kilometers of coastline and is separated into 2 areas: east port and west port. The 39 shipping companies based in this port have contributed to making it one of the most important in the country. In addition, the unification plans with the port of Hong Kong will make them the first port in the world.
- Qingdao Port
The port of Qingdao is managed by the Qingdao Port Group and is located in the south of the Shadong Peninsula. It stands out for being the port that manages the largest amount of iron and oil in the world and in all of China, respectively. The more than 400 million tons of cargo that pass through its facilities each year place it among the 10 largest commercial ports ever built.
- Xiamen Port
The port of Xiamen is located on the island of the same name, belonging to the province of Fujian and off the coast of Taiwan. It was one of the first ports to open its doors to foreign trade after the communist revolution, which has allowed it to position itself as a port transit enclave of great importance.