An inauguration ceremony celebrating the first voyage from Taicang port to Hebei province's Huanghua and Tianjin ports is held on Feb 27. [Photo/WeChat account: TPETDZ]

A fast channel opened between Taicang and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as a container freight liner left Taicang port for Hebei province's Huanghua and Tianjin ports on Feb 27, according to Taicang Daily.

Shanghai PanAsia Shipping Co is responsible for the shipping.

"Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei province and Xiongan New Area need to connect with cities along the Yangtze River," said Luo Hailin, deputy general manager of PanAsia Shipping Co.

In order to satisfy that demand, PanAsia opened a Taicang-Tianjin route offering two container ships with one voyage every six days, docking sequentially at Huanghua, Tianjin, Ningbo and Taicang.

The new route is expected to promote the transfer of bulk cargo by container, which lowers the risks of cargo damage and the environmental pollution brought by bulk shipping and improves efficiency.

PanAsia, a leading enterprise in China's container shipping, is optimistic about Taicang port's container shipping business and has already opened three domestic trade routes at Taicang.

The port now is part of 193 container shipping routes and its position as a pivotal domestic trade port along the Yangtze River has been further strengthened.

More than 4.5 million containers were handled at the port last year, up 10.5 percent year-on-year, 2.6 million of which were domestic containers, a 10.6 percent increase year-on-year and ranking first among the ports along the Yangtze River.

The Xiongan New Area, established in April 2017, is a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing in Hebei province. It is the third new area of national significance after the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area.