Opening-up Commercial Ports

　　Yunnan has five national-level Commercial Ports Opening-up, of which two are Wanding port and Ruili port of the Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. In addition, the Dehong prefecture also has two provincial ports, namely, Longchuan port and Xiaopinyuan port in Yingjiang County.

　　Not only are they of great importance to the Chinese-Myanmar trade relationship, but also they are main ports connecting China to Southeast Asia and South Asia. According to research, it is through the Sino-Myanmar water and land transporting thoroughfare leading to the Indian Ocean that freight can be the lowest, shortening the transport distance by 5000 km.

　　Wanding Opening-up Commercial Port

       Adjacent to Jiugu port (in Myanmese language: Bangsai) of North Myanmar, Wanding saw the establishment of its Customs Department in 1937. And it was in 1938, when the Yunnan-Burma Highway opened, that Wanding became an important national-level Opening-up Commercial Port. During World War II, the Burma Road and the Stilwell Road passed through the Wanding port. Great amounts of international shipments in support of the Chinese anti-Japanese war came into China through it. In February of 1942, the 100,000 Chinese Expeditionary Forces exited from Wanding and fought in Myanmar. In April of 1950, when the Chinese People's Liberation Army was stationed in Wanding, there were more than 200 vehicles loaded with commercial goods entering and exiting Wanding Opening-up Commercial Port daily. 1985 saw the withdrawal of the Wanding town and the establishment of Wanding city. There were up to 59 firms of the city involved in Border trade in 1989, with a total import and export volume of 233 million Yuan. According to the rate of exchange in effect at that time, the per capita GDP exceeded 800 U.S. dollars, which symbolizes the people of Wanding have entered the well-off standard of living. In the same year, Wanding was listed as one of the 189 cities whose per-capita GDP exceeded 4,000 Yuan. In early 1999, the State Council decided to cancel Wanding City and planned to incorporate it within the administrative region of Ruili City.

　　Ruili port 

      Ruili is located in the end of No.320 State Road. Ruili port is adjacent to the Mujie Port of Myanmar. In 1987, Ruili port was assessed by the State Council as a state-level port. Over the years, the cross border trade volume accounts for more than 70% of Yunnan province's total import and export volume, and 34% of the total volume of the country. This statistics won Ruili a name "the port of pearl". In February of 1991, the Yunnan provincial government approved the establishment of Jiegao border trade economic zone and built a transnational “Sino-Burma Street”. Jiegao has been rising rapidly, and known as the "Shenzhen in Yunnan". In April of 1992, the State Council approved Ruili to be an opening up border city, and dismantled the county to establish a city. As one of the Province's largest border crossings, Ruili was assessed as an "Advanced National Port" by the central government in 1996. And in 1998, it was approved to be one of the "First Category of Excellent Tourism Cities in China” by the National Tourism Administration. According to statistics, Ruili City received 1.52 million domestic and foreign tourists, and the tourism revenue reached 240 million Yuan in 2000, which accounted for 31% of GDP of the City.

　　Ruili enjoys a unique geographic position, with its southeast, southwest, northwest facing the Myanmar border, and with a borderline 169.8 km long. There are totally 33 channels and passages for import and export.

　　Ruili is close to Nankan, Wanding and Jiugu of Myanmar enjoy the coexistence in the Ruili Basin. Its Wanding port is just opposite Mujie, Jiugu and Jiegao of Myanmar. Ruili enjoys favorable geographical conditions, which constitutes "a dam, two countries, three states or provinces (Yunnan Province of China, Shan State, and Kachin State of Myanmar). Ruili has four ports, and five towns (Wanding, Ruili, Jiugu, Mujie, Nankan) and a unique geographical landscape of "two towns in one country”. The Jiugu Bridge of Wanding links the No. 320 State Road and Stilwell Road directly. And Jiegao, known as "The end of a Wonderland ", is the end of the No.320 State Road as well as an intersection of the Stilwell Road.

　　Ruili is a young city, and its construction began in 1954. The construction efforts intensified from the 1990s. Today's Ruili City covers an area of 12 sq km, with the chief city road 291 km long. The yearly water supply is 4.68 million cubic meters. A large-scale comprehensive Huafeng malls was built downtown of Ruili. And JingCheng Hotel, the Joint-inspection Building of Port, Nanmao Lake Water Park, the Ruilijiang Square, and the Jewelry Town are some infrastructure. In 1999, Wanding became a part of the jurisdiction of the Ruili City, thereby Ruili has two national ports, two border cities, a national border economic cooperation zone(Ruili city), a national-level economic development zone (Wanding), a provincial border-trade economic zone (Jiegao), a prefecture-level economic development zone (Nongdao). Therefore, Ruili has become the city with most ports and development zones of Yunnan province. When implementing the Western Development Policy, Ruili boasts a port city with the best surrounding conditions, most development potential, and better infrastructure among all in the province.

　　Zhangfeng Opening-up Commercial Port of Longchuan County

　　Being interdependent with Lei-ji port (Yangrenjie in Chinese) of North Myanmar, it is the closest port to Bhamo which is at a vital position (with a land distance of only 92 kilometers). Bhamo is the first port on the Sino-Burma Water and Land Transport Thoroughfare. According to historical records, 80,000 horse packs of goods were exported via the Zhangfeng port in 1924. In 1991, Zhangfeng port was classified as a provincial level port in Yunnan. In 1997, the Myanmar government authorized Lei-ji as the only commercial port of Kachin State to have a business relationship with China. On August 13, 1998, China and Myanmar held a grand ceremony for the opening of the port.

　　The Xiaopingyuan Port of Yingjiang County

　　Yingjiang has been a fortress for the Yunnan-Burma trading since ancient times, and post stations were established on the ancient road. In 1894, the Sino-British "Yunnan-Burma Trade Treaty" was signed, which promoted Yingjiang to be a most prosperous business center between Yunnan and Burma. The British Consulate, Customs and other agencies had been allowed to set up in Mangyun. Exporting business covered north Myanmar and most areas of India while cargoes from more than 30 countries of five continents were imported via Mangyun. In the mid of the 1980’s, border trade has become one of the economic pillars of Yingjiang County since its re-emergence. Till the early 1990s, the highway networks of the Yingjiang port set Xiaopingyuan Town as the center, respectively lead to the border through Mangyun, Nabang, Xima, Kachang, Sudian, and Zhina, among which the route through Mangyun to the border leads to Bhamo, a town of Myanmar 131 km from Mangyun. The route to the border through Na-bang connects with "the Stilwell road", and leads north up to Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital which is 197 km from China.

　　Ferries

　　Before 1950, Dehong had no permanent ferry terminals and the cargo ships were seasonal. Civilian formed some ferry by using bamboo rafts. Since 1951, the border prospered with a booming economy, and the frequent civil contacts and river crossings were gradually catching up. Larger ferries had bigger ships from one ton loads to 20 tons after 1960. In 1980, motorized vessels were adopted. By 1990, 39 ferries had been formed. (Translated by Zhu Qisai)