Gu Jia/Shanghai Daily news

Completion of the Yangshan deep-water port phase I this year indicates that Shanghai has established the foundation to become an international shipping center, the Shanghai Municipal Port Administration Bureau announced on January 11.
The lack of deep-water berths in the Huangpu River or at Waigaoqiao Port, whose water depths in the port areas are around seven to 10 meters, makes the two ports incapable of  handling heavy vessels except those carrying fewer than 3000 standard containers.  
"This will soon be a common sight," a principal from the local port administration said with pleasure. "A big Mac vessel with 8000 standard containers on it easily heading into the new port, which has a 1,350-meter coast line and five deep water berths, each 15 meters deep."
Also, the local government is working on a network of new and broader freshwater routes to ensure the convenient movement of river traffic at local ports.