In order to establish Shanghai as an international economic, financial and trade centre it is essential to make Shanghai an international navigation centre. With the rapid development of container transport on a global scale, such an international navigation centre should possess hub port with container terminal capable of accommodating large or even super-sized container vessels entering the port. Port Shanghai, located inside the mouth of the Yangtze River, is the only suitable site to build such container terminal, for it has the superiority of being in the immediate proximity of metropolis Shanghai, with superior facilities for conducting international trade and convenient access to the vast hinterland, including the delta area and the entire Yangtze River basin. At present, the only hindrance is the huge shoal forming at the mouth of the estuary, the natural water depth of the channels over the shoal is only 6m, vessels of over 10000 tonnage have to save the tide in entering the estuary. An improvement scheme has been worked out to increase the depth of entrance channel successively to 8.5m, 10.0m and eventually to 12.5m, so that container ships of the 3rd and 4th generations could enter the port all day round, and those of 5th and 6th generations, as well as cargo vessels of 100 000 tonnage, by saving the tide. The improvement scheme consists of regulation works (training jetties and spur dikes) as shown in the figure, in combination with dredging operations.