Yongjiang River has the abundant water resource and good shipping conditions. It is the main water source of Nanning as well as the main and tributary waterway for shipping. Yongjing River is regarded as the mother river of Nanning. It guarantees the economic development of Nanning. It also greatly improves the urban construction and plays an important in the Nanning’s culture.
Yongjiang River has a total length of 133.8 kilometers. The total catchment area at the upstream is 73,728 square kilometers with an average annual flow of 1,292 cubic meters per second. The name of the river dates back the Tang Dynasty due to the original Yongxi River in the suburbs of Nanning. The maximum depth of the Yongjiang River reaches 23 meters. The maximum width of the river is 1,000 meters, and the normal width is 300-400 meters.
Yongjiang River has solved the water supply problem in Nanning. Nanning has five major water purification plants in Chencun, Henan, Zhongyao, Xijiao, and Lingtie. These water resources are all from the Yongjiang River. The total daily water supply capacity reaches 940,000 cubic meters.
In history, Nanning is known for its prosperous commercial trade. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, the scale was so grand that it became the goods distribution center along the river. Through Yongjiang River, people could take boat to Wuzhou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. It has been the important waterways in the southwestern region of China since the ancient times.
In the Qing Dynasty, a large number of businessmen from southeastern Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces came here and used the waterways to transport goods between Nanning and other cities. After Nanning was opened as a foreign trade port in 1907, it also attracted merchants from 21 countries. The foreign industrial products started to be sold to the mainland cities in China through Yongjiang River and the domestic agricultural products were exported.
By the beginning of the 21st century, the north bank of the Yongjiang River already had many ports, such as Beida Wharf, Shangyao Wharf, Dakeng Wharf, Chendong Wharf, Minsheng Wharf, and 8 inland waterways.