Yangtze River Shipping

Timeline

1. 1127–1130Jiankeng (Jiangning) and Zhenjiang · JiangsuAfter Emperor Gaozong moved south and established the capital at Lin'an, the lower Yangtze became the chokepoint for supplying the capital and transporting military materiel. Naval forces and grain barges were stationed at Jiankeng, Zhenjiang, and other places, with sand boats and grain barges carrying provisions and refugee supplies along the Yangtze.
2. 1131–1140From Ezhou on the middle Yangtze to Caishiji on the lower Yangtze · HubeiIn the early Shaoxing era, Jin forces invaded southward multiple times; Yue Fei and other commanders deployed naval forces along the Yangtze, using both grain barges and warships. At the same time, goods from Jiangnan market towns converged on Lin'an via Yangtze tributaries, forming a complex shipping pattern in which wartime military supply and peacetime commerce ran in parallel.
3. 1141–1200Lin'an (Hangzhou) and the prefectures of Jiangnan · ZhejiangAfter the Shaoxing peace treaty, the Yangtze border became relatively stable; Jiangnan revenues were shipped north to Lin'an via inland waterways and Yangtze tributaries, with the Maritime Trade Office and Grain Transport Office coordinating dispatch, making Yangtze shipping the lifeline of Southern Song finances and urban consumption.