Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) has been selected for China’s inaugural "Travel with Brands" visitor experience program, an initiative launched by China’s National Development and Reform Commission highlighting industrial and manufacturing destinations open to the public.
As ZPMC’s largest manufacturing facility, the Changxing site stretches across a 5.5-kilometer deepwater shoreline and an approximately 800-acre waterfront campus that is home to an open-air museum of quayside cranes. With an annual output of more than 200 quayside container cranes, the site has opened part of its production operations to visitors, offering a rare close-up view of modern heavy-equipment manufacturing on a massive scale.
The visitor experience includes five main stops across the Changxing site.
- From Pier Zero, a working jetty extending 300 meters into the Yangtze River, hundreds of brightly colored quayside cranes are visible along the 5.5-kilometer waterfront of Changxing Branch, each bound for ports around the world.
- The Changxing digital showroom, featuring three exhibition halls and ten display areas tracing the development of China’s port machinery industry and the evolution of modern port equipment.
- The Safety Experience Center, opened in 2024, where visitors can take part in hands-on safety training using VR, mixed reality, and full-scale physical simulators.
- A landscaped stormwater collection and treatment system designed in the style of a classical Chinese garden, complete with traditional footbridges, willow-lined streams, and waterside walkways. Seven retention ponds and 5.4 kilometers of open channels collect and treat industrial runoff before discharge. Beyond its environmental function, the area has also become a popular recreational space for employees and visitors alike.
- Finally, a 99.9-meter-high observation deck on the 29th floor. From here, the entire 5.5-kilometer deepwater frontage unfolds below, lined with hundreds of towering cranes. Every crane is bound for the open sea, eventually serving ports around the world.
The “Travel with Brands” program encourages companies to open selected industrial sites to visitors, combining tourism with behind-the-scenes access to major manufacturing operations. The initiative highlights companies with strong technical and engineering capabilities while creating new ways for the public to experience large-scale industrial production firsthand.