A new shipping route between Huangpu port in Guangzhou to Hong Kong has been recently launched by Chinese logistics company Sinotrans.

In a report, state media said a new batch of containers loaded with frozen food departed on February 22 from the port in Guangdong province, bound for Hong Kong, marking the opening of a new waterway express to the city.

"The new route ... will ensure the delivery of food from Guangzhou to Hong Kong in eight hours, and ease pressure on the city, which has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in recent days," it said.

Sinotrans already operates a waterway route between Hong Kong and Foshan, Guangdong, which the report said, helped transport 24 metric tons of chilled chicken from Jiujiang port on February 23.

"Expansion of the waterway channel aims to help local food companies solve transportation problems and improve delivery efficiency amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong," said Lin Shaohong, deputy general manager of Sinotrans Huangpu Warehouse Yard.

Lin noted that the company has worked closely with Guangzhou customs to formulate a special customs clearance scheme, which helped ensure the quick delivery of food to Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, a new waterway channel between Guangzhou's Lianhuashan port and Hong Kong opened also, shipping three tons of vegetables to the city — which has kept the supply of fresh food from the Chinese mainland steady, the report said, citing a Hong Kong spokesperson.