An aerial drone photo taken on March 1, 2024 shows the container storage area at the Qinzhou Port in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

A sea-road intermodal transportation route linking Da Nang in Vietnam with south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been put into essential use.

On Monday, the first batch of containers, loaded with tapioca from Da Nang in Vietnam, arrived at the Beibu Gulf Port Qinzhou container terminal in Guangxi, where they would be transported to factories in Guangxi's Chongzuo City via road transportation.

The tapioca would be processed to produce industrial and food-grade alcohol, according to Liu Fuming, operation manager of Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Transport Development Co., Ltd.

The sea-road intermodal transportation route shortened the traveling time to about seven days, saving more than half of the transportation time compared to the previous route which used to take about 20 days, while the cost remains almost the same, said Liu.

Li Tailin, chairman of Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Transport Development Co., Ltd., said that the route can expand the transportation capacity of Beibu Gulf Port, contributing to the development of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage built by provincial-level regions in western China and ASEAN members.