Xuzhou boasts a strategic location that connects east and west, north and south, and promotes two-way opening and gradual development. Situated at the juncture of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui provinces, it borders the Yellow Sea to the east, the Central Plains to the west, the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers to the south, and Shandong and Shandong to the north. Known as the "crossroads of five provinces," it serves as a national comprehensive transportation hub. Major national expressways, including the Lianhuo, Beijing-Fuzhou, and Beijing-Shanghai expressways, converge here, as do the Beijing-Shanghai and Longhai railway lines. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passes by the city. Xuzhou Guanyin International Airport is the only major trunk airport in the Huaihai Economic Zone, and Xuzhou's transportation pipelines are a crucial component of the East China Oil Pipeline. Xuzhou has established a modern, three-dimensional transportation system integrating rail, aviation, highway, water transport, and pipelines.
Railways
Xuzhou is China's second-largest railway hub, home to the intersection of the Beijing-Shanghai and Longhai Railways. The opening of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway in 2011 marked Xuzhou's entry into the "high-speed rail era," simultaneously connecting it to the Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Rim's three-hour economic zones. As the saying goes, "When Xuzhou is connected, the whole country is connected." Xuzhou is a crucial crossroads for economic ties between the east and west, and the north and south, earning it the nickname "the throat of China's railways."
Xuzhou Guanyin International Airport is an international airport built for the "Belt and Road Initiative", a large civil aviation port on the domestic first-class trunk line, and one of the 17 airports in China that can take off and land large passenger aircraft larger than 747, ranking about 12th. By the end of 2024, the air passenger throughput of Xuzhou Guanyin International Airport was 3.4282 million, an increase of 14.5%.
Water Transportation
In 2014, the State Council's Yangtze River Economic Belt Planning Plan designated Xuzhou Port as a key national port for development, granting it seaport capabilities.
Xuzhou is a key node in the global shipping network and a national inland waterway hub. By the end of 2024, Xuzhou's waterway cargo volume reached 52.92 million tons, its port cargo throughput reached 60.0748 million tons, and its container throughput reached 286,700 TEUs, a 14.4% increase. Xuzhou Port is one of China's 28 major inland ports and one of China's top ten inland ports, ranking among the top ten inland ports in terms of throughput. The Grand Canal, known as the "Golden Waterway," traverses Xuzhou, stretching 181.16 kilometers. It connects Weishan Lake in the north and Luomahu Lake in the south, making it a Class II waterway. Classified waterways (Class 7 and above) account for 593.16 kilometers, or 56.07%, of the city's total. This has essentially formed a waterway network with the Grand Canal and the Xuhong River as the primary channels, interconnected by trunk and tributary channels.