Throughput at Taicang Port in Jiangsu province hit 1.88 million containers in the first six months of 2016, a year-on-year growth of 10.5 percent, according to data released by the administrative committee of Taicang Port.

Taicang Port bristles with bridge cranes. [Photo/Taicang Daily]

Despite the global trend, the port's throughput increased to 109 million tons, growing by 18.16 percent year-on-year, with foreign trade cargo accounting for 35.98 million tons, securing first place among the Yangtze River ports, with an increase of 10.49 percent year-on-year.

Officials from the administrative committee said that the port is striving to build itself into an important hub for import and export along the Yangtze River economic belt by strengthening its container load center and merging into the economic rim of Shanghai.

Taicang Port, located at the south bank of the Yangtze River estuary, is a nationally recognized artery port for container transportation at the north wing of the Shanghai International Navigation Center. It is a hub for transportation by river and sea, and also the top foreign trade port deemed as a key project by Jiangsu province. The port has a 38-kilometer-long coastal line along the Yangtze River and a 12.5-meter-long deep-water route, with 56 berths of different sizes, including 29 at 10,000-ton level and 10 for container ships.