Statistics from the Yangtze River Administration show that Yueyang’s container throughput in the first eight months of 2010 increased by 45 per cent year-on-year to 82,000 TEU, while that of general cargo grew by 12 per cent to 8.5m tons. It is likely that Yueyang’s container throughput will break through the 100,000 TEU barrier by the year end, according to official forecast.

Yueyang is one of the smaller ‘major’ ports along the Yangtze trunkline and the only one in Hunan province. Last year, it recorded a 110 per cent rise in container throughput, giving it the second largest growth rate among all the major Yangtze ports.

Last winter, the extremely low water level in the upper reaches of the Yangtze and immediately downstream of the Three Gorges meant that many vessels had to lighten in Yichang or Yueyang before heading for the regional hub of Wuhan. This contributed to the increase in throughput. Yueyang and Changsha (situated on a Yangtze tributary) are important feeder ports for Wuhan.

Yueyang is one of 24 Yangtze port cities profiled in the third edition of Yangtze Transport: Accessing China’s Interior, published this week.