The relevant research of ICPLS originated from the feasibility study of the Three Gorges Project in the 1980s. In 2002, Chongqing Jiaotong University carried out a series of research such as "Restructuring of Chongqing Waterways Transport", "Chongqing Container Development Strategy", which are mainly waterway transport projects. The university prepared "The Development Scheme of Chongqing Shipping Centre". Subject to the development and request of Chongqing shipping centre, "Chongqing Port Logistics and Shipping Development Research Centre” was formally set up and renamed as ICPLS in 2009.
In 2010, based on the local development and consultation, ICPLS was jointly set up by Chongqing Jiaotong University, the Border Agency of Chongqing Municipal Government, Chongqing Transportation Commission and Chongqing Minsheng Shipping Company. ICPLS is physically located in Chongqing Jiaotong University. Professor Jiguang Wang, Deputy Office Director of Chongqing Border Agency, is acting as the first Director of ICPLS. Xiongyue Liang, Deputy Director of Chongqing Transport Committee, is acting as the Deputy Director of ICPLS. Xiaozhong Lu, Director of Chongqing Municipal People's Congress, is appointed as the honorary director of ICPLS. Maozeng Xu, Dean of Management School at Chongqing JiaotongUniversity, is the Deputy Director of ICPLS, taking charge of the routine management of ICPLS. Youfang Huang, Director of the Steering Group of Ministry of Education Logistics Committee of specialty instruction, Vice-Chancellor of Shanghai Maritime University, is the First Academic Chairman of ICPLS.
ICPLS has 18 full-time research staff, 13 internal and external part-time staff, including 14 professors, 18 Ph.D. (including the reading of the recent graduating Ph.D.), which form a reasonable structure. ICPLS has its independent workplace and information library, new experiment rooms with rich sources, including "the intermodal laboratory", "port logistics simulation laboratory", "simulation laboratory for logistics centres and warehouses".
Since the centre inception, relying on the key disciplines of Chongqing (was named outstanding)-Management Science and Engineering (PhD authorization) and management of business and administrations (level I authorization of master’s degree), the centre has carried out more than 50 research projects, such as the Research and Practice of Yangtze River Open Channel Diversion and Navigation at Three Gorges, the International Border River Navigation Research and Development of Lancang River, Improving the Navigation Capability between the Two Dams of Three Gorges and Gezhouba, Chongqing Port Optimization and Integration Scheme, Chongqing Port Construction and Its Adaptability to the Regional Economic Development Research, Chongqing Shipping Centre Development Plan, Chongqing Municipal Waterways Eleventh Five-Year Development Plan, etc. The centre has found solutions to many serious problems such as waterway transport and navigation during the construction of Three Gorges Project.
In the meantime, it has provided over 40 consultation report for all levels of government and businesses, promoting Chongqing Shipping Centre, the establishment of Chongqing Shipping Exchange Market and Indexes, winning one Level II award of China National Science and Technology Progress, one Level II provincial award on science and technology development, three provincial Level III scholarships and 13 scholarships on China Logistics Association. The centre has published over 120 journal articles certified by SCI, EI, ISTP, CSSCI, etc. The centre has edited and published over 20 textbooks such as the series Chongqing Shipping Development Report, Traffic Edition of the 21stCentury Logistics Series of Textbooks, 2 of which are English monographs. The centre has trained over 150 post-graduates and over 5000 cumulative people have got different trainings in this centre.
The centre has successfully hosted the Annual Conference of China Science Association: China Inland International Trade Forum, the Annual Conference of China Science Association: The Integrated Transport Hub Forum of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
The long term successive research on special area and forum has resulted in innovation research teams and the research capability has been built up and improved. The influence has also expanded. The centre has become a base to train port border logistics and shipping talents for the up-reaches of the Yangtze River.
