Lydia Chen / Shanghai Daily news 

The Shanghai customs department is playing a bigger role in China because its operations now radiated to 10 provinces and regions and two municipalities.

The provinces are Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan Provinces and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Shanghai and Chongqing Municipalities are also on the list.

In the first quarter of this year, 4.58 million twenty-feet equivalent units have gone through Shanghai Customs, an increase of 21 percent on a year ago.

By the end of last year, the volume of international containers through Shanghai had made the city No. 3 in the world while the number of tourists flying to the country via Shanghai airport ranked it No. 1 nationwide.

To step up the capabilities of Shanghai Customs, the municipal government will complete the expansion work at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport with 12 more entrances added at the airport.

International passengers will only need 45 minutes if they transfer in the city to another international flight when the airport expansion project is finished.