There is a place, which gathers commodities and sends them away by rivers and seas in the east, relies on the China Railway Express to connect Asia with Europe in the west, and sees the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) meet the sea at Qinzhou Port in the south. It is Guoyuan Port, a multimodal transport-branded international trade and logistics hub.

"Goods can be delivered to Guoyuan Port by a combination of different transportation methods, such as river, sea, land, and rail, based on factories' requirements on the delivery time of raw materials at different times. Multimodal transport reduces costs while ensuring efficiency." A head from Corning Incorporated said: "The company's overall logistics cost in related routes of this year is estimated to be diminished by 5% to 10% thanks to the multimodal transport." Rail transport suits goods with high demand for delivery time; otherwise, water transport is a better choice. Different transportation methods can be freely combined at the Guoyuan Port.

European automobiles and milk powder arrive at Guoyuan Port by the China Railway Express and then visit cities in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River by shipping. Clothing and shoes made in Southeast Asian countries are sent to Chongqing via the ILSTC and then transhipped to Shanghai or Europe. One port, 13 exclusive railway lines, and connections with expressways enable Guoyuan Port to build a complete rail-water-land multimodal transport network.

Formerly, it cost about 40 days to deliver plastic pellets from the Middle East to Chongqing through the Yangtze River. Rail-sea multimodal transport now shortens the journey to just over 20 days. "After introducing a Type-B bonded logistics center, Guoyuan Port can open front warehouses for imported goods, which allows customers to expand sales volume and expedite turnover of capital."

Chemical products from Yunnan and chopped strand mats from Luzhou are to be rapidly transhipped by railway after arriving at the Guoyuan Port through the river; it takes another two days for them to reach Qinzhou Port via ILSTC and be shipped away from here. The whole journey will last no longer than ten days, which saves 15 days compared with the original plan of going for Southeast Asia by the Yangtze River. Guoyuan Port seamlessly connects rail and water transport, attracting an increasing number of goods worldwide and seeing them be sent away.

To further improve logistics efficiency, Guoyuan Port welcomes a series of smart facilities, including the intelligent container cargo handling system, electronic bills of lading, intelligent gates, and rail-water multimodal transport information platform. Additionally, it achieves joint dispatch with railway authorities, ensuring fast transshipment to minimize the dwell time of cargoes.

Chongqing Liangjiang New Area has launched policies concerning container rail-water and water-water multimodal transport businesses. It has also appropriated subsidies for the development of multimodal transport. Correspondingly, Guoyuan Port reduces charges and rent, even exempts logistics companies from the latter, while supporting them in loading/unloading operation, short barge and other fields.

Construction of the Guoyuan Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) Phase-II is also to be commenced in 2020. When being built, the Center is slated to provide all-round and one-stop services on import and export trade for companies. These include bonded storage of import goods and others with customs procedures unsettled; simple processing and value-added services for stored goods; global purchasing and international distribution and delivery; transshipment trade; international transfer; other customs-approved international logistics businesses.

Chongqing Minsheng Comprehensive Logistics Co., Ltd. will start the Liangjiang New Area Comprehensive Logistics Base Project Phase-II in September 2020. The project, with an investment of around RMB 300 million, aims to develop the water transport-based land-rail-water multimodal transport, in a bid to serve customers with integrated door-to-door logistics.

Chongqing relies on the Guoyuan Port to found the Guoyuan Port International Logistics Hub Development and Construction Company. Focusing on the building of an international logistics hub and integration of global supply chains, the city plans to develop a 20-square-kilometer logistics zone and utilizes varied transportation methods to reduce logistics costs. These will improve Liangjiang New Area's role in resource collection and its regional influence in West China while intensifying its function as an opening-up portal in inland China.