The future is here | Global mayors impressed by world's busiest port in Ningbo

The world's busiest port, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, impressed mayors from around the world who are attending the 2026 Global Mayors Dialogue · Ningbo in east China's Zhejiang Province. A visit to the port's Meishan area offered a glimpse into the advanced technologies driving its operations.

"It was so impressive, the scale of the port and the technological complexity for that number of containers," said Stu Mullin, head of governance at the Office of the Mayor of Auckland, New Zealand.

In terms of cargo throughput, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has retained its position as the world's busiest port for 17 consecutive years, handling more than 1.4 billion tonnes of cargo in 2025. It now operates more than 300 container shipping routes connecting over 700 ports in more than 200 countries and regions.

Beyond its sheer scale, the port is also pushing ahead with digitalization and greener operations. Technologies such as 5G, the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, artificial intelligence and digital twins are now widely deployed across its terminals. In Meishan, a fleet of 102 autonomous electric yard trucks operates in coordination, making it the largest fleet of its kind in China. Meanwhile, gantry cranes and other port equipment are undergoing electrification and digital upgrades.

Meishan is also home to Zhejiang's first fully green-powered container terminal, where five megawatt-class wind turbines generate enough electricity each day to power a berthed container ship.

(Intern Liu Yinian also contributed to the story)