China-made polar icebreakers, Snow Dragon 2 and Ji Di, which means polar region, open for public viewing on July 3 in Qingdao, a port city in East China's Shandong Province. Photo: VCG

July 11 marks the 20th Maritime Day in China. It is the only holiday in China's maritime field approved by the State Council, the country's cabinet.  

At a press conference held on June 26, Yang Huaxiong, director of the Water Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, said the theme of this year -- smart navigation and smooth future reflects the need to develop the maritime industry in the new era. China's smart navigation, smart ports, intelligent manufacturing, and other practical explorations are fully underway, and "smart" has become an important feature of the high-quality development of the maritime industry.

The theme is also in line with this year's World Maritime Day theme. By promoting the integration and innovation of new generation information technology in the water transport industry, China continues to empower the future transformation and upgrading of the maritime industry and contribute Chinese wisdom and strength to the development of the world maritime industry, Yang explained. 

July 11, 1405, is the day legendary Chinese navigator Zheng He first set sail to the "Western Oceans" during the Ming Dynasty  (1368-1644). Zheng led a large fleet westward, showcasing the spirit of an Eastern maritime power and opening the door for China's foreign trade.

Today, China has become the world's largest trading nation. From the ancient maritime concept of "a unified world" to the present concept of a global community with a shared future for mankind, what has changed is the increasingly powerful Chinese maritime industry, while what remains unchanged is the spirit of maritime exploration and friendly neighboring relations.

So far, China has built 21 automated container terminals, 28 automated bulk cargo terminals, and ranks first in the world in the number of automated terminals built or under construction. The fourth phase project of Taicang Port is the first automated terminal in the Yangtze River Basin, with an operating efficiency more than 25 percent higher than traditional container terminals and 10 percent higher than similar automated terminals, making it known as the "smartest" port along the Yangtze River.

At the same time, China has built the world's largest maritime security system. On December 26, 2008, the first escort fleet of the Chinese Navy set sail from a military port in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, heading to the waters off the Gulf of Aden and Somalia to carry out escort missions, marking a new journey for the Chinese Navy into the deep blue sea. 

Over the past 16 years, the Chinese Navy has dispatched 46 fleets, more than 150 warships, and over 35,000 officers and soldiers to rescue or escort more than 7,200 Chinese and foreign ships, ensuring the absolute safety of the escorted ships. With practical actions, it has demonstrated the great responsibility of the Chinese military and won widespread praise at home and abroad. 

With the development of the maritime industry, the ocean is no longer the exclusive domain of explorers. Ordinary people can also travel on cruise ships to the open sea to enjoy romantic and free adventures. The Aida·Modu (Adora Magic City), China's first large-scale domestically built and operated cruise ship, embarked on its maiden commercial voyage on January 1. According to media reports in May, the Aida·Modu can accommodate nearly 150,000 passengers.

China's maritime power is also playing an increasingly important role in ocean exploration and marine scientific research. China's first independently built polar scientific research icebreaker, the Snow Dragon 2, participated in China's polar expedition for the first time in 2019 and successfully completed the 40th Antarctic expedition task in April this year. 

The Snow Dragon 2 is the world's first polar scientific research icebreaker to adopt bidirectional icebreaking technology at the bow and stern, with the ability to continuously break 1.5 meters of ice and 0.2 meters of snow at speeds of 2 to 3 knots in both directions. The ship is equipped with scientific winches, deep-sea shallow seismic profiling instruments, seabed seismometers, and other equipment to meet the needs of precise seabed measuring and fishery resource exploration.

China's maritime activities are also spreading China's goodwill to more distant places. On June 16, the Chinese Navy's Peace Ark hospital ship set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, to carry out its 10th "Harmonious Mission-2024" task. With the hull number 866, the Peace Ark is the first domestically designed and built standardized ocean-going hospital ship in China. The ship is equipped with a remote medical consultation system, and its medical equipment configuration is equivalent to that of top level hospital in China, making it a modern mobile hospital at sea. 

Global Times

Ships park at a container terminal at the fourth phase project of the Taicang Port in East China's Jiangsu Province, on July 9, 2024. Photo: VCG

Picture taken on May 26, 2024, shows an interior view of the Aida·Modu cruise ship. Photo: VCG

Local school children watch a ceremony to mark the arrival of Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark into Honiara, capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, on August 19, 2023. Photo: VCG

A helicopter lands on a Chinese Navy's ship on February 3, 2023, as the Chinese 42nd and 43rd naval escort taskforces carried out a multi-subject joint training exercise in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somali. Photo: VCG

The Haixun 06, or Sea Patrol 06, the largest maritime patrol ship in the Taiwan Straits, is commissioned on July 11, 2022, in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province. Photo: VCG

Smart Navigation, Smooth Future