Ganqimaodu Road Port and the Manzhouli Railway Port in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region made the list of China's model cases for smart port development released by China's National Port Administration, standing out from 311 ports nationwide.

Ganqimaodu Road Port, a key energy corridor for China–Mongolia cooperation, has pioneered an approach covering operations, construction, and data standards. It has built China's first dedicated cross-border lane for autonomous transport.

Using automated guided vehicles, customs clearance efficiency has increased by over 60 percent, while transport costs have fallen by 15 percent. The model has been recognized as a national multimodal transport demonstration project and a China–SCO digital economy best practice.

Manzhouli Railway Port, the largest rail freight hub for China–Russia trade, has integrated 5G and the internet of things technologies to create a comprehensive system for cargo monitoring, smart dispatching, and risk alerts.

With real-time data visualization and intelligent analysis, its daily transshipment capacity has doubled from 420 to 840 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and full-train inspections now take less than one minute.

The selection of these two ports highlights Inner Mongolia's contribution to China's digital transformation of ports, offering scalable and replicable solutions. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the region has invested 410 million yuan ($58.57 million) in 50 smart port projects, significantly improving cross-border logistics efficiency and regulatory capacity through technological innovation and coordinated governance.