Container handling gets under way at Quzhou Port on Dec 24. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The container handling operations undertaken on Dec 24 by the vessel Jiaji 302 in Quzhou Port – in Quzhou city, in East China's Zhejiang province – marked the moment when the throughput of inland waterway containers in the region exceeded 1 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) for the first time, local officials said.

They said the first container line in Quzhou Port was officially opened on the same day.

The Quzhou-Zhapu container line, which is being operated by Jiaxing Inland River Shipping Co Ltd, is a subsidiary of Inland River Co Ltd.

From January to November, the volume of containers handled by inland waterways shipping business through Zhapu county in Jiaxing city increased by 141.81 percent, compared with the same period last year.