The section of the Yangtze River's waterway in central China's Hunan Province fully resumed two-way navigation on Friday afternoon after a notable rise in water levels, which has helped improve ship navigation conditions.

The Yangtze River Maritime Administration on Friday lifted the one-way traffic control on the Qigongling Waterway located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River after a dry season that lasted for 255 days.

At present, the water surface width of Qigongling has reached about 300 meters, meeting navigating conditions for two-way and double-channel ship passage, according to the maritime affairs department of Yueyang City of Hunan Province.

During the dry season last year, the siltation was so serious here that the narrowest navigation width was less than 150 meters. With upstream and downstream ships forced to pass during different hours, the average sailing time of each ship was extended by at least 24 hours.

Now, however, ships loaded with cargo are sailing slowly around a sharp bend.

"In the past, we had to wait for about a day to go downstream, but now the navigation conditions have improved, which saves our time and operating costs," said Zhang Shuanshuan, captain of Changyun 1006, a ship carrying more than 3,000 tons of gravel heading for Wuhan City from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

"After the lifting of the one-way traffic control in the Qigongling waters, the waiting time of ships in the Yueyang section of the Yangtze River has been greatly reduced, and the sailing of ships going upstream and downstream has returned to normal," said maritime law enforcement officer Lu Jiqing.

(Cover image via screenshot)

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