Cold wind and rain cannot stop the freight trains bound for spring.
In early spring, the intelligent cold chain logistics center at the Huaihua International Land Port buzzes with machinery. Inside cold storage facilities, a wide variety of ASEAN fruits and vegetables from Yunnan and Guizhou are neatly stacked. Gantry cranes shuttle busily at the multimodal transport center, and batches of cold chain trains stand ready to deliver fresh food across China.
The ASEAN Economic and Trade Exhibition Center at Huaihua International Land Port is also abuzz with activity, as workers prepare for the first ASEAN Exhibition of Flowers, Seafood and Fruits. On the eve of the Spring Festival, residents of Huaihua and surrounding areas will be able to purchase directly supplied, high-quality and affordable specialty products from Southeast Asia, enjoying a grand gathering of diverse cultures and delicacies.
This vibrant scene reflects Huaihua International Land Port’s earnest implementation of the provincial Party committee and government’s requirement to “build an international land port with distinctive cold chain logistics”. Taking the construction of a national backbone cold chain logistics base as the core driving force, the port strives to forge an ASEAN cold chain hub and has innovatively established a four‑driven development system: infrastructure foundation, smooth channel connectivity, industrial chain clustering, and institutional empowerment. It has rapidly emerged as a key ASEAN fruit cold chain distribution hub and Yunnan‑Guizhou vegetable assembly center in central China.
Impressive statistics bear witness to its growth: in 2025, Huaihua International Land Port handled 3,708 TEUs of cold chain containers, a year‑on‑year 17 times increase, ranking first among national inland ports. Regional cold chain logistics costs dropped by 21%, and prices of imported ASEAN fruits fell by more than 20%.
Three‑tier support system: build hard‑core capacity
On January 26, inside the LCL Center of Huaihua International Land Port, white containers hum continuously—a distinctive sound of cold chain containers. Thanks to intelligent cold chain technology, these dragon fruits still carry the humid freshness of Vietnam.
This freight train departed from a station in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, marking the first direct China‑Vietnam railway cold chain train from Ho Chi Minh to Huaihua in three years. Equipped with China Railway Special Cargo “8+1” generator sets, the journey took only six days, greatly shortening the previous transit time and effectively preserving fruit freshness.
“This train carries 130 tons of goods worth about 750,000 yuan. Its successful operation has won high recognition from customers,” said an official of Huaihuai Cold Chain Logistics Co., Ltd. at Huaihua International Land Port. The resumption of this service, made possible by multi‑party collaboration, signifies a substantial step forward in the construction of the Huaihua‑Ho Chi Minh cross‑border cold chain corridor.
Adopting a dual drive of “existing facility upgrading plus new capacity improvement”, the land port has built a three‑tier cold chain infrastructure system featuring “regional linkage, multimodal transport and intelligent empowerment”. Its daily cargo handling capacity exceeds 1,000 tons, forming the largest and most fully functional intelligent cold chain facility cluster in the Wuling Mountain area.
At the regional network level, the land port has joined hands with market entities including Jiahui Group and supply and marketing cooperatives to build a dense cold chain node network covering all 13 counties, cities and districts. The city’s total cold storage capacity reaches 205,000 tons, with 200 standard cold chain trucks in service. To address insufficient efficiency in old cold storages, intelligent upgrading has been carried out with full coverage of IoT technology. Warehouse utilization rate rose from 48% to 60%, energy consumption fell by 22%, and cargo damage rate dropped by 17%, achieving improved quality and efficiency of cold chain facilities.
At the core of the Multimodal Transport Center stands a modern intelligent operation platform building. On the large screen of the intelligent hall on the 12th floor, railways, highways, ports and logistics parks are clearly marked, with dynamic display of multimodal transport routes and real‑time data updates.
As the central core of cold chain logistics system, the Multimodal Transport Center plays a key role in internal and external connectivity. Built with an investment of 1.2 billion yuan, it includes five functional zones including cold chain operation scheduling, warehousing and logistics, and customs supervision, with ten major functions such as international freight, cargo inspection and loading/unloading. It is equipped with a 7,000‑square‑meter cold storage and 200 cold chain slots, with an annual cold chain container handling capacity of over 5,000 TEUs. Through a joint venture with COSCO Shipping, a Fortune Global 500 company, the center has become the core hub for railway cold chain agricultural and sideline products distribution at the land port.
The 240,000‑cubic‑meter intelligent cold chain logistics center, built with an investment of 580 million yuan, is the largest single cold chain storage facility in Hunan Province and the “digital core” of the port’s cold chain system. Adopting internationally advanced intelligent refrigeration equipment and warehouse management systems, it enables precise temperature control across multiple zones to meet the needs of frozen goods, fruits and vegetables, pharmaceuticals and other products. Currently, the center handles over 300 tons daily, serving more than 120 agricultural enterprises in five surrounding provinces, efficiently supporting the two‑way flow of local specialty farm products going global and high‑quality ASEAN cold chain products entering China.
Three‑tier matrix: reshape a “Golden Artery”
Recently, the Spring Festival Fair at Jiahui Logistics Park was bustling with excitement, especially at the ASEAN fruit opening area. Golden and creamy durians, crisp and plump cherries, and fragrant jackfruits were neatly displayed. Dozens of tropical fruits filled the venue, and their sweet aroma blended with a strong festive atmosphere.
The cold chain corridors bring ASEAN fresh produce directly to consumers’ tables. “I came early in the morning. The fruits are fresh and inexpensive. I want to buy more durians and cherries for the Spring Festival,” said Wang Ruifang, a local resident, carrying a full bag of fruits with a bright smile.
“I specially came to Huaihua, Hunan for the Spring Festival fair. I brought Thai frozen durian, fresh durian and young coconuts to let Huaihua consumers taste our specialties,” a Thai merchant warmly introduced.
Supported by the land port’s logistics advantages, the fair featured direct procurement and sales of Southeast Asian fruits. Local producers offered products at near‑cost prices, supported by consumption subsidies from governments and financial institutions, fully meeting residents’ festival shopping needs.
To meet the circulation demand of RCEP fresh products, the land port has innovatively created a three‑tier cold chain corridor, combining international trunk lines, regional special lines, and intercity branch lines. The transport radius has expanded from 350 km to 1,500 km, forming a logistics pattern where ASEAN fruits and vegetables produced in Yunnan and Guizhou arrive by rail within 72 hours and 20 hours respectively, and products being delivered to the Wuling Mountain area within 10 hours.
Smooth international trunk lines have strengthened ties between Huaihua and ASEAN. The Vientiane‑Huaihua scheduled cold chain train achieves 72‑hour direct delivery, 40% faster than before and 14 days shorter than traditional rail‑sea transport.
To enhance supply chain stability, Huaihua International Land Port has set up three origin warehouses in Vientiane, Laos and other places, including pre‑storage facilities for Laos bananas and Thai longans and durians. Last year, a total of 714 TEUs of ASEAN fruits were shipped, a year‑on‑year increase of 700%, bringing tropical fruits to Chinese consumers at more affordable prices.
Regional special lines serve as a logistics link connecting Yunnan and Guizhou. On July 15, 2025, the Kunming‑Huaihua scheduled cold chain train was approved and launched. Its frequency increased from one train per week at the beginning of the year to 3.5 trains, with transport efficiency improved by 37%.
Through this corridor, a total of 2,994 TEUs of Yunnan‑Guizhou vegetables such as oilseed rape and Shanghai bok choy were shipped in the whole year, a year‑on‑year surge of 53 times. These fresh vegetables are distributed via Huaihua to Changsha, Yueyang, Tongren and other cities, building a rapid vegetable circulation channel between southwest and central China.
The extension of intercity branch lines brings cold chain services to grassroots areas. The land port has joined hands with Jiahui Group, SF Express and other enterprises to build 57 county‑level cold chain distribution stations, forming a distribution network covering 71 counties in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi within 10 hours.
Statistics show that 150,000 tons of agricultural products were distributed in 2025, driving 750-million-yuan worth of agricultural exports from surrounding areas via Huaihua. Specialties such as sugar oranges and poria from the Wuling Mountain area have traveled across the country and overseas via the cold chain logistics system.
Integration of three chains: cultivate a growth engine
Adhering to the concept of “promoting trade through logistics and invigorating industries through trade”, the land port has built an ecosystem integrating cold chain service chain, commercial supply chain and industrial value chain. Through the layout of “leading enterprises + industrial clusters + service platforms”, it has developed a full‑industrial‑chain cold chain system and accelerated industrial agglomeration.
The number of cold chain logistics enterprises in Huaihua rose from 130 in 2024 to 165. China Supply and Marketing Group invested 2.2 billion yuan to build a regional headquarters, while leading enterprises including SF Express and Huai’en Food have settled in, forming a development pattern of “leading enterprises provide guidance and small and medium‑sized enterprises coordinate to develop”.
Relying on the Human Resources Port, the Wuling Mountain Cold Chain Training Base delivers 500 skilled personnel annually. Since 2024, Huaihua has successively hosted the China Cold Chain Logistics Entrepreneurs Summit and the International Land Port Construction and Cold Chain Logistics Development Exchange Conference, building cooperation platforms and enhancing brand influence.
The cultivation of processing clusters has extended and added value to the industrial chain. Enterprises such as Huai’en Food have built production lines for quick‑frozen fruits and vegetables and prepared dishes. In 2025, they processed 35,000 tons of agricultural products with a product value‑added rate exceeding 35%. Meanwhile, deep integration of cold chain and e‑commerce has been promoted. The annual transaction volume of agricultural products in the (cross‑border) e‑commerce industrial park reached 25 million yuan, broadening sales channels and forming an integrated “production‑processing‑warehousing‑transportation‑sales” industrial chain.
A sound policy ecosystem safeguards industrial development. Huaihua has issued the country’s first local regulations on land ports and policies for the high‑quality development of cold chain logistics. It has established an industrial development fund and innovated supply‑chain finance services such as accounts receivable pledge and warehouse receipt pledge, helping enterprises including Yiyatong and Zhujihe obtain 80 million yuan in bank credit lines.
The implementation of the “One Stop for Cold Chain” approval service has shortened enterprise establishment time to one day. Nine cold‑chain‑related enterprises including Jianglu Group were signed during the year, with additional investment exceeding 2 billion yuan, injecting sustained vitality into industrial development.
Three‑tier innovation: unleash synergistic effects
Recently, a batch of 23.3 tons of Thai frozen durian pulp arrived at the land port and smoothly completed customs clearance and inspection under the supervision of Huaihua Customs, affiliated to Changsha Customs.
Previously, fresh fruits imported via China‑Laos trains had to be inspected at designated supervision sites with quarantine qualifications at entry ports, causing delays. However, low‑temperature frozen imported fruits do not require such designated supervision sites. Goods can be shipped directly to Huaihua for inspection without stopping at entry ports, greatly improving logistics efficiency and reducing comprehensive enterprise costs.
“The customs clearance speed of cold chain goods directly determines product freshness and market competitiveness,” said the person in charge of Hunan Zaiwuxi Trading Co., Ltd.
To ensure the rapid entry of these time‑sensitive goods, Huaihua Customs provided on‑site policy guidance in advance, helping enterprises apply “advance declaration” and “two‑step declaration” and strengthening coordination with port customs to achieve “immediate declaration and inspection, quick inspection and release”.
As a coordinated linkage area of the Hunan Pilot Free Trade Zone, the land port has innovatively formed a three‑tier reform system: “policy breakthrough + process reengineering + ecosystem cultivation”, continuously optimizing the business environment and stimulating internal development momentum.
Full release of policy dividends has greatly reduced enterprise costs and increased efficiency. Supported by a 62% cold chain freight discount from China Railway Kunming Bureau, the railway cold chain transport cost for Kunming‑Huaihua routes is only 2,800 yuan per TEU, 3,700 yuan or 56.9% lower than road transport. As the sole national railway cold chain logistics operator, China Railway Special Cargo provides strategic support including full‑process constant temperature monitoring and priority train allocation. Combined with the train policy subsidies from the land port, enterprises save more than 5 million yuan in costs annually.
Innovative customs clearance models have improved cross‑border logistics efficiency. Huaihua Customs has established a “multiple customs as one” mechanism with Mengla, Pingxiang, Qinzhou and other customs along the New International Land‑Sea Trade Corridor, promoting railway express and direct pickup upon arrival. Cold‑chain import and export clearance efficiency is better than the national average. Last year, 2,154 “single‑document” bills of lading were issued, accounting for 26% of the total volume in the “13+2” regional companies and ranking second, greatly simplifying customs procedures.
Reconstruction and optimization of processes have further shortened logistics cycles. Huaihua has hired Huahai Company to provide free customs declaration services and explored the “cold chain + 1210 import” model, raising declaration efficiency by 70%. Efforts are being made to apply for the construction of a Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) and a designated supervision site for fruits, and to obtain pre‑inspection authority at cooperative ports, reducing the cross‑border logistics cycle from 7 days to 3 days. Meanwhile, Huaihua has been included in the second batch of national departure port export tax rebate pilots, speeding up export tax rebates for cold‑chain enterprises by 5 to 10 days and further enhancing their competitiveness.
Driven by constant innovation, regular operation of trains carrying Laos bananas, efficient distribution of Yunnan‑Guizhou vegetables and direct delivery of ASEAN fruits to inland areas have become realities. Rooted in the Wuling Mountain area, Huaihua International Land Port, as a cold chain hub, is vigorously smoothing the China‑ASEAN trade corridor and writing a remarkable chapter for the development of Hunan’s inland opening‑up economy.
(Translated by Yang Hong)