Pinglu Canal will be fully opened today. The Madao Hub has set two "world records".

This morning, a major milestone will be reached in the construction of the main backbone project of the Western Land-Sea New Channel: the Malvado and Qishi Navigation Hubs in the three major navigation hubs will start to be filled with water, and the Pinglu Canal will achieve full water flow, entering the water commissioning stage. It is expected to be fully navigable by September this year. The Pinglu Canal is the first grand canal in China since the founding of the People's Republic, and it has set numerous "world's first" and "national records" with a series of impressive figures. Firstly, it has the largest water level drop amongst provincial water locks, with a maximum water level difference of 29.6 meters between the upstream and downstream of the water lock, equivalent to about 10 stories high. Secondly, it is the largest scale inland water lock, with a length of 300 meters and a width of 34 meters, with one lock chamber area equivalent to 1.5 standard soccer fields. Two locks can simultaneously accommodate 12 ships of 5000 tons each. In addition, the Malvado and Qishi Navigation Hubs have also set a "world record" for the fastest gate opening and closing speed among provincial water locks. Each gate valve in these water conveyance channels weighs 70 tons, "opening in just 1 minute and closing in just 30 seconds."