Shashi Port

Shashi Port

Shashi Port is located on the north bank of the Jing River section of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in central-southern Hubei Province, within the jurisdiction of Shashi City, Hubei Province. Traveling 808 kilometers upstream via the Yangtze leads to Chongqing via Yichang, while going 478 kilometers downstream reaches Wuhan Port. To the northwest lies the historic and cultural city of Jiangling (Jingzhou).

Shashi Port enjoys convenient transportation. To the north, the local Jing-Sha Railway connects via Xiangfan to the Jiaozhi Railway. Roadways include the Han (Kou)-Shashi, Xiang (Yang)-Shashi, Shashi-Hong (Hu), Shashi-Chang (De), and Shashi-Yue (Yang) trunk lines, and the under-construction Yichang-Huangshi Highway Double Track (Class I) will also pass through Shashi. Air routes include flights from Shashi to Shanghai, Shashi to Changde, and Shashi to Yichang. Via the Yangtze waterway, traveling upstream via Yichang leads to Chongqing, while going downstream via Chenglingji and Yueyang reaches Changsha, and via Wuhan reaches Nanjing and Shanghai. Entering the Huyuan River from Taipingkou on the south bank of the Yangtze connects with Hunan’s four major water systems—the Xiang, Zi, Yuan, and Li. Via Sanbaban in the suburbs of Shashi, the Neijing River system links to counties and cities such as Jiangling, Jianli, Qianjiang, Jingmen, and Xiantao.

Natural Conditions. The prevailing winds are from the north, with an average annual wind speed of 2.4 meters per second and a maximum wind speed of 24 meters per second. The average annual precipitation is 1,114.6 millimeters, with 126 rainy days per year on average. There are an average of 10 snowy days per year, with a maximum snow accumulation of 21 centimeters. Winters are often foggy, with an average of 37.3 foggy days annually, typically lasting around 3 hours. The year with the fewest foggy days was 1988 (11 days), and the year with the most was 1977 (62 days). The average annual temperature is 16.2°C, with a record high of 38.6°C and a record low of -14.9°C. There is no history of port water freezing. In the Yangtze River port area, the highest historical water level was 44.67 meters (August 1954), the lowest was 31.21 meters (March 1979), and the average is 36.68 meters. The maximum flow speed is 2.77 meters per second, the minimum is 0.59 meters per second, and the average is 1.38 meters per second.

Economic Hinterland. The direct economic hinterland of Shashi Port includes Shashi City and parts of the counties and cities in the Jingzhou region. Shashi City’s industry is supported by textiles, chemicals, electrical appliances, and machinery manufacturing, with main products including cotton yarn, fabrics, machine tools, steel, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, washing machines, refrigerators, and electronic goods. In 1990, the total industrial output value was 2.153 billion yuan. Agricultural and sideline products mainly consist of grain, oilseeds, cotton, vegetables, and fruits, with the total agricultural output value in 1990 being 26 million yuan. The total value of foreign trade purchases in 1990 was 266 million yuan. In 1990, the city completed a freight volume of 3.886 million tons, with water transport accounting for 7.85%, a freight turnover of over 50,000 ton-kilometers, with water transport making up 45.04%; passenger volume reached 6.084 million, with water transport at 6.46%, and passenger turnover of 59,000 person-kilometers, with water transport at 21.99%. Among imports and exports through Shashi Port, mineral construction materials and coal were the bulk, accounting for 67.9% and 13.2% respectively.

The direct economic hinterland of Shashi Port boasts abundant tourism resources. Shashi City features Wan Temple Pagoda and Zhanghua Temple; Jingzhou has Chu culture ruins and Three Kingdoms-period attractions such as Changban Slope, Yuquan Temple, and ancient Longzhong, as well as the Three Gorges (both large and small) and Zhangjiajie National Park. Port Status: Shashi Port’s jurisdiction spans from Dabu Street upstream to Fangkai Gorge downstream on the north bank, and from Wanshi City upstream to Zhangjiahua Port downstream on the south bank, covering a total length of 245 kilometers. Shashi Port itself is divided into the Yangtze River Port Area and the Neijing River Port Area, spanning 12.2 kilometers in total, with the Yangtze River Port Area extending 11.8 kilometers from Xinhekou to Yanka and the Neijing River Port Area covering 0.4 kilometers. The land area is 588,000 square meters, and the water area is 10.62 million square meters. Of this, the Shashi Port Authority manages 2,010 meters of shoreline and 280,000 square meters of land area. Shashi Port has a total of 75 berths and 103 docking spaces, including 11 berths and 18 docking spaces owned by the Port Authority, all of which are 100-ton class. There are two anchorages, Yunan and Yaojinzhou, covering an area of 900,000 square meters. The total yard area is 267,000 square meters, of which the Shashi Port Authority owns 75,000 square meters, with the rest belonging to local and cargo owner yards. Additionally, the Shashi Port Authority operates 9 warehouses covering 12,000 square meters. There is also one container yard capable of holding 1,000 TEUs. The Shashi Port Authority possesses 90 handling machines, with a maximum lifting capacity of 15 tons per unit. Local port departments and cargo owners own 280 handling machines, with a maximum lifting capacity of 50 tons per unit.

The Shashi Port Authority has 6 tugboats with a total power of 1,406 kilowatts and 15 barges. The Authority also has a passenger travel service building covering 6,900 square meters, including a waiting hall of 2,100 square meters. Local port departments have a waiting room of 500 square meters. In 1990, the Shashi Port Authority (main port) handled 1.387 million tons of cargo, including 40.6% coal, 29.6% construction materials, 7.5% grain, and the remainder consisting of steel, petroleum, and salt. Local port departments handled 2.25 million tons of cargo throughput that year.

Source: Office of the People's Government of Shashi District