Published : 23/03/2026
Besides the Pinglu Canal which is under construction, China is also planning the 2,000-kilometre-long Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal.
This project of the century will connect the Pearl River, Yangtze River and other water systems, linking the Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta region, and in the future, it is expected to be upgraded into a national Beijing-Guangzhou Canal.
Sun Yat-sen's "Plans for National Reconstruction" once mentioned this Canal
The Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal, as its name suggests, is a canal that connects the three provinces of Zhejiang (浙), Jiangxi (贛), and Guangdong (粵).
According to reports, the planned Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal will consist of two parts, the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal and the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Canal, of which the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal is the main feature.
The Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal was first proposed several hundred years ago during the Ming Dynasty, and by the Republican period, Mr. Sun Yat-sen also mentioned the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal in Plans for National Reconstruction, but given China's engineering technology at the time, it could only exist on paper.
However, many previously unsolvable problems are no longer insurmountable for the current "infrastructure maniac".
In 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission proposed the "four vertical, four horizontal, and two networks" national high-grade waterway layout plan, which involves the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal, and the preliminary work and feasibility studies for this canal have already begun.
Read more: Project of the Century: Where is the Pinglu Canal? How Important Is It?
Saving a 1,200 km journey
According to the current plan, the majority of the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal will be created by modifying natural rivers, and will also include some artificial canals and multiple sets of ship locks to regulate water levels.
It will start in Hukou County in northern Jiangxi, where Poyang Lake flows into the Yangtze River, travel along the main stream of the Gan River into the Tao River, and after reaching Xinfeng County in southern Jiangxi, it will then pass through a newly excavated artificial canal, cross the Nanling Mountains to enter Shaoguan in northern Guangdong, and then follow the Bei River into the main stream of the Pearl River.
The total length is over 1,200 kilometres, equivalent to the straight-line distance from Hong Kong to Shanghai.
Checking a map, once the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal is completed, China's most important waterways, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, will be directly connected.
The most direct benefit it brings is that cargo ships travelling between the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Guangdong's Pearl River Delta will no longer need to take the coastal route via Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.
They can travel south and north via the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal, reducing the journey by more than 1,200 kilometres and definitely lowering logistics costs.
Driving relocation of industries to inland
According to preliminary estimates, after the completion of this canal, the potential freight volume could reach over 300 million tonnes.
At the same time, the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal will also drive industrial transfer and promote the development of regions such as southern Jiangxi and northern Guangdong.
As for the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Canal, its total length is about 760 kilometres, and the main project is to excavate a trans-mountain artificial waterway in Changshan, Zhejiang, and near Shangrao, Jiangxi, connecting the Xin River and the Qiantang River in the two provinces.
The Xin River flows into Poyang Lake, and Poyang Lake is the starting point of the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal.
The two canals converge here, forming the 1,988-kilometre Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal. This length even surpasses the world's number one, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
It is worth noting that two of China's world-class city clusters—the Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta region—will be directly connected by inland waterways.
This will not only drive the development of inland areas along the route, especially Jiangxi Province, but also provide a safe and reliable strategic alternative route for southeast maritime transport.
Upgrading to a national Beijing-Guangzhou Canal
Taking a step further, the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal will also connect with the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and some media have said it is expected to become a national Beijing-Guangzhou Canal.
In the future, one can travel by inland waterway from the Greater Bay Area to the Yangtze River Delta, and even have the opportunity to reach the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region directly.
Of course, to reach the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region directly, the cooperation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is necessary, but some sections of that canal have not yet resumed navigation, and ships cannot cross the Yellow River.
How much investment is needed to build the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal? Media reports say it will exceed 300 billion RMB, which is nearly three times the cost of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.
One final point: the construction of the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal should not present major engineering or technical difficulties, but there are still some issues that need to be resolved, such as environmental and ecological concerns, especially as this could affect the water source and volume of Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake.
It would even impact the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so a more detailed plan is still required.
Entering the 21st century, China has a new wave of canal construction plans, among which the Pinglu Canal in Guangxi is already under construction and is expected to open for navigation in 2026.
As for those in the planning stage, besides the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal, there is also the Xiang-Gui Canal.