Shanghai Strengthens Global Transport Hub Status

The Shanghai Urban and Rural Construction and Transportation Development Research Institute has published a report, highlighting the city's cemented position as a global shipping hub.

​A bustling container terminal at Shanghai Port. [Photo/General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government]

In the supply chain sector, container throughput at Shanghai Port continued to grow. International routes handled 40.06 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 16.4 percent year-on-year, while international transshipment reached 7.91 million TEUs, a 10.6 percent increase.

Shanghai operates nearly 350 international routes that connect more than 700 ports across over 200 countries and regions.

The city is expanding routes to emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Major projects, including the Xiaoyangshan North Operation Area and the phase II reconstruction of the Luojing Port Area container terminal, are progressing steadily.

Shanghai Port is using inland waterways, railways, and other transport modes to strengthen links with industrial clusters across the broader Yangtze River Delta region and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Rail-water container throughput in the Yangtze River Delta region reached 2.07 million TEUs, up 12.6 percent year-on-year, while rail–water intermodal container throughput rose to 1.1 million TEUs, an increase of 15.5 percent.

​Cargo is unloaded from an Air China Cargo plane. [Photo/General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government]

Shanghai's air transport market is also showing robust growth in both passenger and cargo segments. The city's cargo and mail throughput ranks second globally.

Cargo and mail throughput at Shanghai Pudong International Airport exceeded 4 million tons for the first time, reaching 4.54 million tons, up 7.9 percent year-on-year.

Cross-border e-commerce cargo throughput reached 607,000 tons, a 27.3 percent increase year-on-year. Air passenger throughput totaled 135 million, ranking third globally. Passenger throughput at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport surpassed 50 million for the first time.

By the end of 2025, Shanghai's airports connected to 302 destinations in 54 countries, a record high.

The number of passengers entering and leaving China through Shanghai reached 39.9 million, accounting for 28.9 percent of the national total.

The number of inbound foreign tourists reached 5.59 million, a year-on-year increase of 39.7 percent.

Shanghai's airports strengthened transfer capacity across all business segments and service chains. The number of transit passengers at Pudong Airport reached 13.75 million, with the transfer rate rising to 16.2 percent.

Rail passenger traffic has been on the rise. Last year, total outbound passenger trips reached 274 million, an increase of 5.9 percent.

Total rail freight in Shanghai reached 19.32 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.9 percent. Freight from Shanghai to the Yangtze River Delta region accounted for 56 percent of the city's total rail freight volume, up 3 percentage points year-on-year.