CHENGLINGJI, a port in Hunan province's Yueyang city has started a new shipping service via Yangtze River and along the coast to Hong Kong and Macau, which is the first such service to the two special administrative regions, Xinhua reports.

According to Changsha Daily, in Hunan province, the inauguration ceremony was held at the Chenglingji International Container Terminal, the maiden ship carried 28 TEU of fireworks to Hong Kong.

The service is operated by Fujian Lianfa Shipping Company, the subsidiary of the largest carrier in Fujian in terms of capacity, Fujian Guanhai Shipping Company. It uses two ships and offers six round-trip sailings per month that sails along the Yangtze River to Shanghai then sails along the coast to Hong Kong and Macau. Each single journey lasts six to seven days. Using the new service, shippers can save up to CNY300 (US$47.64) per TEU.

Customs at Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing and Changsha have started to cooperate on trans-regional clearance for the new service. Cargo from Yichang, Chuanjiang and Chongqing that are previously transshipped at Wuhan's Yangluo port will now be transshipped via Chenglingji port, bringing 50,000 to 120,000 TEU to the port's throughput.

Experts said that the new line will bring opportunities for the development of Hunan's export-oriented economy and international logistics.

Being the largest port in Hunan province, Chenglingji port is located on the south bank in the middle reaches of the Yangtze.