Maritime Silk Road | Manila Galleon Trade and Maritime Silk Road

The "Maritime Silk Road" includes the East China Sea route, the South China Sea route and the Pacific route. In history, the three major shipping routes have continuously extended, forming a sea transportation network that extends in all directions. Among them, the route from Guangzhou, Macau, Zhangzhou to Manila in the Philippines was opened during the era of great navigation in the 16th century. Manila Port is a part of the Maritime Silk Road, and also one of the regular ports on the Southeast Asia route agented by E-PORTS.

Manila Galleons

Speaking of the Maritime Silk Road, we?always think of porcelain and tea exported to Europe or Zheng He's fleet visiting East Africa. In fact, there is another trade route that has profoundly affected the historical course?of the East and the West. It is the Manila galleons. The term "Manila galleons" refers to Spanish merchant ships active on the Pacific route from the late 16th to early 19th century. The main route operated by Spain is the Asia-America-Europe route, which is based in Manila as the Far East and spans the Pacific and Atlantic, namely the route from Manila to Acapulco de Juárez on the west coast of Mexico to Vera Cruz on the east coast of Mexico to Spain. After Spain crossed the Atlantic and occupied Mexico, it crossed the Pacific to the Philippines and occupied Manila in 1571. It then sailed north from Manila to Taiwan and the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, gradually forming a route from Yuegang in Haicheng County, Fujian to Manila.

With the help of the Manila galleon trade, the first climax of cultural exchanges between China and Latin America was formed in the Ming and Qing dynasties, which played a positive role in promoting the economic development of South American countries and improving the lives of local people. Chinese silk and porcelain, as well as Japanese porcelain and lacquer ware, were imported to Latin American countries in large quantities, which had an important impact on local craft production and people's daily lives. American crops such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and even tobacco were also imported to Asia via?this route, which influenced the dietary?structure and lifestyle of Asian people.

Location of Manila Port and its Harbor?Areas

Manila is located on the southwest coast of Luzon?Island, Philippines, on both sides of the mouth of the Bashi River. The Port of Manila is located in the harbor area?of Manila and Tondo district, facing Manila Bay, and is the largest and premier international shipping gateway in the Philippines.

Manila North and Manila South

The harbor?area of Manila stretches from north to south along the coast and is divided into two major harbor?areas, Manila North and Manila South, which are bounded by the the Bashi River?mouth.

Manila?North?starts from the north bank of the?Basil River?mouth?and extends from the land bank to the west with 8?jetties.?But the water depth is shallow and only coastal vessels can dock. The north and south ports are linked by 6?bridges over the river. Although the distance is not very far, if there is a sea freight to Manila, it is best to ask the customer whether they are going to North harbor?or South harbor. The?two ports are often the same freight, but depends on the?shipping companies. As for?the specific price,?E-PORTS can provide you with the best solution, and?the quotation provided by E-PORTS star?agent in Manila should prevail!

Manila?South?is located south of the Basil River?mouth, with the land bank facing?slightly southeast and 5?jetties extending to the southwest, protected by a breakwater. There are a total of 26 berths in the jetties No. 3, No. 9, No. 13 and No. 15, with a total length of 4,340 meters of quay line, all of which handle general cargo and containers.

The two ports need the consignee to prepare the import declaration information in advance to do pre-clearance. For the goods that can not be self transported,?both ports also need to prepare the trailer in advance, so that the goods directly discharged onto the trailer, to minimize the pressure of the yard. Failure to prepare the relevant?procedures and trailers may even affect discharging, resulting in high demurrage charges. You can contact E-PORTS in advance to prepare pre-clearance documents and loading/discharging operations?for your cargo.?E-PORTS will follow a standardized process to provide you with guaranteed ship arrival services.

In order to meet?the development of the port's container throughput, a large jetty has been built between the North and South harbor?areas, stretching westward from the north shore of the Basil River?mouth, and an international container harbor?area has been built outside the original breakwater of the?Manila?North, with 4?container berths, a wharf line of 986m long, and an average wharf-frontage depth of 10.4m. In addition to the above public harbor?areas, in the southwest of the port, southeast of the entrance to Manila Bay, there is also Rosario oil and dangerous goods harbor?area, where there is one berth each at sea and at the wharf, and the sea berth can berth 45,000-ton ships. At the end of the 1980s, the port throughput has exceeded 30 million tons, and the annual container handling is 860,000 TEU.

Philippines and Maritime Silk Road

In the era of great navigation, Vigan was an important station on the Maritime Silk Road. It was located on the banks of the Ilocos River in the Philippines, and in the delta of the Abra River on the northwest coast of Luzon Island.

Since the 16th century, in the process of world integration, the Manila Galleon Trade?has been an important link in the maritime trade of the late ancient?world. This route was also one of the main channels of maritime links between East Asia and the Western world from the 16th to the 19th centuries, centering?around the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong in China. Together with the trans Indian Ocean route opened by the Portuguese in the 16th century and led by the Dutch and British, it has formed the global network of the "New Maritime Silk Road" linking the East with the West for nearly 500 years.