The Yangtze River surges forward while Dongting Lake stretches vast and boundless. At Chenglingji Port, massive vessels weave through busy waterways, gantry cranes rise and fall in steady rhythm, and ten-thousand-ton freighters sound their horns as they depart for the open sea. This is Hunan's gateway to the world via water, and also the frontline for safeguarding the purity of the river. Yueyang Lingang Hi-Tech Zone has demonstrated remarkable vision in connecting with global markets, delivering a substantial contribution to the city's broader development objectives.
Five years of determined progress mark a new level of comprehensive strength. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, regional GDP grew steadily, while total import and export volume successively surpassed the 30-billion, 40-billion, and 50-billion-yuan thresholds. In the national ranking of the top 500 provincial-level development zones for high-quality growth, the zone advanced to 20th place nationally and secured 2nd position in Central China.
With projects anchoring the zone and industry strengthening its foundation, advanced manufacturing is now clustering at scale. Industry leaders including New H3C, Inovance, Zhongchuang Aerospace, Yueyang Paper, and Panhua have established operations here, attracting a host of Fortune 500 companies, China's top 500 enterprises, and major central state-owned enterprise investments. Three national-scale production hubs for servo motors, cultural paper, and thin steel plate have essentially taken shape, while the world's largest smart remote control production base maintains its leading position in the industry. Hunan Province has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with New H3C Group, with key projects including ICT, crystal oscillators, advanced printers, and the Central China headquarters for the low-altitude economy successively inked. The largest "semiconductor plus green intelligent computing" base in Central China is rapidly rising to prominence.
With openness as the guide and rivers connecting to the sea, the export-oriented economy is gaining strong momentum. Leveraging the "Four Zones, One Port, Five Customs Ports" ten national-level open platforms, the zone has launched 15 regular container shipping routes, expanding trade and economic cooperation to 37 countries and regions. In 2025, cargo throughput at Chenglingji Port surpassed 90 million tons. An innovative "Yueyang headquarters plus Africa bases" dual-platform strategy has been implemented, with the Yueyang headquarters base for the Deep China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone now officially operational. Guansheng Company has established rubber processing plants and overseas warehouses in Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, and other nations, building an integrated system that connects African initial processing, overseas warehousing, domestic refined manufacturing, and global sales. Trade with Africa surged by an extraordinary 412.76% in 2025.
Innovation empowers and reform breaks new ground, continuously invigorating development. The Yueyang Free Trade Zone has rolled out 62 pioneering institutional innovation achievements, with seven initiatives—including "inland river freight for imported transit goods excluded from duty-paid value"—recognized as national-level innovation cases. These reforms have collectively reduced costs and boosted efficiency for enterprises by over 200 million yuan. The zone houses academician workstations, national-level laboratories, and innovation and entrepreneurship bases, maintaining the city's leading position in R&D investment intensity and invention patents per 10,000 residents.
Looking toward the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Lingang Hi-Tech Zone will steadfastly implement the "1376" overall strategy, striving to build a "one mainstay, three highlands" national high-tech zone. This includes developing Chenglingji Port as the main frontline for the national strategic logistics hub city, creating an advanced equipment manufacturing highland led by "semiconductors plus green intelligent computing," establishing an inland open-economy highland supported by the "Four Zones, One Port, Five Customs Ports" platforms, and building a highland for科技成果转化 and innovation entrepreneurship anchored by the creation of a national high-tech zone.
Connecting rivers to the sea, the hub is strengthening its capabilities and expanding its reach. The zone is deepening strategic cooperation with China Logistics, COSCO Shipping, and the provincial port group, improving shipping networks that reach the upper and lower Yangtze, provide direct routes to Hong Kong, Macau, and Vladivostok, and link Australia and ASEAN. Accelerating the construction of key projects such as Songyang Lake Phase III and the multimodal transport logistics park, the zone is building a comprehensive "water, rail, highway, and air" multimodal transport network, fast-tracking the transition from a "logistics corridor" to a "hub economy."
With chain leaders guiding and industrial clusters advancing, industry is climbing to greater heights. Deeply cultivating the "semiconductor, green intelligent computing, and artificial intelligence" core industries, the zone is implementing a precision investment attraction model built around "chain leaders, industry chains, industrial clusters, and industrial ecosystems." Guided by New H3C, it is laying out ICT, crystal oscillator, semiconductor, and low-altitude economy projects. Leveraging leading enterprises such as Inovance, Zhongchuang Aerospace, and Boding to extend and strengthen the supply chain, the zone is also making forward-looking deployments in emerging tracks including artificial intelligence, BeiDou applications, and commercial aerospace.
Aspiring toward the ocean, cooperation is deepening and openness is expanding. With a primary focus on China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and cross-border e-commerce, the zone is supporting leading enterprises to "go global together," building a "Yueyang Industrial Park" in Africa along with overseas warehouses, and perfecting the integrated "African initial processing, overseas warehousing, domestic refined manufacturing, and global sales" system, aiming for new breakthroughs in trade with Africa.
Daring to be first, institutional reform is breaking new ground and advancing innovation. The zone is deepening the "small management committee plus large companies" reform, promoting the market-oriented transformation of state-owned enterprises, and driving institutional integration and innovation through the Free Trade Zone. It aims to generate national-level innovation cases annually, proactively integrate into the "Wuhan-Yueyang-Changsha" science and technology innovation corridor, and make an all-out push toward the national high-tech zone creation goal.
The Yangtze River rolls on as a hundred boats compete for the lead. On this new journey, the Yueyang Lingang Hi-Tech Zone, with its inclusive vision and pioneering spirit, is reaching for greater heights, advancing innovation, and striving toward the ocean—playing a leading and vanguard role in building the provincial sub-center city.