Two groups of engineers from the Yangtze Waterway Bureau had boarded 10 vessels by 12 October to collect the feedback of operators on using the Yangtze Digital Map. The plan is to spend a month getting feedback from end users and then help improve areas relating to the software, data collection and network.

The Yangtze Digital Map, the centrepiece of the multi-million US Dollar digital waterway programme, aims to provide real-time information about variables such as water depth, current speeds, distances to other ports, location of hazards ahead, and changing silting patterns on the riverbed. A one-year trial started on 1 October.