The Port of Shantou , situated on the east coast of Guangdong Province, is one of the hub ports in China. The port has now 63 productive berths for vessels of over 500 dwt, among them 6 are deepwater berths and 21 are medium-sized berths. The throughput was 10 million tons in 1995.

During the eighth Five-Year Plan period, one coal berth for vessels of 35,000 dwt, one multi-purpose berth for vessels of 20,000 dwt, one general cargo berth for vessels of 15,000 dwt, two berths for lighters of 1,000 dwt and three berths for lighters of 500 dwt were built. The annual throughput capacity was increased by 5.3 million tons, in which 4.1 million tons was coal. A guide jetty and sand barrier was also built outside the port. One oil berth for tankers up to 10,000 dwt and one general cargo berth for vessels up to 3,000 dwt were also built.

The guide jetty and sand barrier outside the port is a key project to remove the sand bars in front of the estuary, thus making it possible to dredge and maintain the entrance channel from -4.7m to -9.5m.