Recent rain storms have raised the water level in the middle reaches of the Yangtze to such an extent that the waterway authorities re-opened the shipping channel between Wuhan and Chenglingji to ocean-going vessels from 20 June.

The 228km stretch, starting from the mouth of Dongting Lake and ending at Wuhan No.1 Yangtze Bridge, was opened to ocean-going vessels in July 2010, allowing large vessels to reach the interior for the first time. The plan was to keep the channel open for six months during the flood season. However the severe drought this year in the upper and middle reaches more than halved the April maximum water level to 4.09 metres at Hankou, Wuhan. Within 11 days of opening the channel for ocean vessels in May, the waterway authorities had to suspend it.

As of 19 June the water level at Hankou recovered to 22.31 metres, up 5.5 metres from the beginning of the month. The minimum guaranteed water level announced by the waterway authorities will be six metres and a width of 150 metres.