A cargo ship at the Port of Shanghai, July 12, 2014. The port has been the busiest in the world since 2010. Yearly cargo capacity is now surpassing 700 million tons.[Photo/VCG]

China currently boasts seven of the top 10 ports in the world based on cargo and container throughput. While the volume of throughput is on the rise, the ports are striving to upgrade their functions. Operations have gradually expanded from traditional loading, unloading and storage to professional logistics and commodity transactions. Cruises have also become a reliable source of revenue for ports. By 2016, ports in the country had received 2.18 million tourists on international cruises, a 79 percent increase year-on-year.