At the break of dawn, refrigerated trucks loaded with frozen goods begin their orderly departure from a state-of-the-art cold-chain logistics park in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The facility is operated by Yuhu Cold Chain, a leader in China's cold-chain food supply sector.

Inside the massive, digitally controlled warehouses, automated forklifts glide silently through a cool mist, precisely moving pallets between towering shelves. Outside, trucks haul away batches of perfectly preserved cargo. For local food supplier Chen Zexin, watching this routine is reassuring.

"This shipment of imported Argentine beef," he notes confidently, pulling up a tracking app on his phone, "is holding steady at minus 18 degrees Celsius. It will reach downtown customers within the hour."

This seamless efficiency is a far cry from Chen's early days in 2022. "Initially, I hired individual drivers," he recalls. "My biggest summer worry was drivers shutting off the refrigeration mid-delivery to save fuel."

He vividly remembers a disaster at a Shenzhen market, where he stood staring at an entire truckload of thawed, spoiled beef. The financial loss nearly wiped out his investment and triggered a wave of customer complaints. In those days, temperature failures, unexpected thawing, soggy packaging and compromised meat quality were common industry headaches.

Facing mounting losses, Chen discovered a new alternative: Yuhu Cold Chain's technologically advanced logistics park, set to open in Guangzhou. In 2024, he moved his operations there.

From the outset, the difference was clear. Staff attached a "Yuhu Code"—essentially a digital tracking ID—to each carton. "We monitor temperature, humidity and location constantly from warehouse to delivery," Chen explains, pointing to his phone screen. "The system sends instant alerts if anything moves out of spec."

Just weeks after he relocated, the system flagged a temperature anomaly in transit. Park staff responded immediately, arranging backup transport while tracing the root cause. "In the past, those goods would have been a complete loss," Chen states. "Coming here was absolutely the right decision."

The centralized digital dashboard monitors real-time logistics and warehouse temperatures at the Yuhu Cold Chain facility. (Photos courtesy of the Information Office of Huadu District, Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, via WeChat)

Yuhu Cold Chain (Guangzhou) is Guangdong's first multi-temperature digital cold-chain warehousing and trading park. Through technological innovation and operational upgrades, it pushed cold-chain logistics toward greater specialization and higher value along the supply chain.

According to Huang Jiebin, general manager of Yuhu Cold Chain (Guangzhou), the park integrates more than 60 digital and intelligent technologies, enabling real-time temperature monitoring, automated task scheduling and end-to-end traceability.

"Big data tackles the most persistent operational frustrations for our merchants," Huang said. "Logistics costs have dropped by 18 percent, and truck space utilization has increased to 90 percent."

Digital coordination has also improved distribution efficiency. Hundreds of refrigerated trucks are connected to an intelligent dispatch system that maps optimal routes in real time. The average number of delivery stops per driver has increased from 20 to 30 per day. The park now handles more than 1,500 tons of goods daily, offering same-day delivery within Guangdong and delivering a 35 percent improvement in order fulfillment efficiency.

Standing in front of a massive digital dashboard displaying real-time operations, Huang pointed out that the park's four cold storage facilities operate under a shared warehouse model. Supported by these advanced systems, the entire storage process has become automated, intelligent and fully visualized.

Ahead of the 2026 Chinese New Year, Chen imported another batch of beef from Brazil, turning a strong profit during the holiday peak. He purchased the inventory through the park's online platform, which aggregates products and prices from multiple countries. "You can place an order with a single click. It saves a lot of time searching for suppliers, and customs clearance is much easier," he noted.

The park has also launched a "direct procurement and sales express" initiative. By building direct business links between on-site merchants and downstream wholesalers, the program has driven a 30 percent growth in new client acquisition for the park's 600 established tenants.

A fleet of refrigerated trucks prepared for departure at the Yuhu Cold Chain logistics park.

A frozen food wholesaler surnamed Li, operating out of Guangzhou's Liwan district, was one of the new clients Chen gained after settling in the park.

"I used to get up at 2 am just to rush to the wholesale market to secure inventory. I was frequently fined for illegal parking, and product quality was hit-or-miss," Li shared. "Now I can place orders right from my store and have cold-chain trucks deliver them punctually. The frozen products arrive firm, dry and with guaranteed quality."

Freed from the hassle of rushing around for inventory, Li has experienced firsthand the convenience of digital and intelligent upgrades.

Fueled by booming online consumption and instant retail demand, China's cold-chain logistics industry continues to grow steadily. The sector is undergoing a comprehensive transformation, driven by innovative refrigeration equipment, deep AI integration, customized industrial-scale models and new supply chain applications.

Empowered by these cutting-edge technologies and modernized operational models, the industry has significantly enhanced its competitiveness, unlocking robust market vitality.

Data from the cold-chain committee of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing shows that China's total cold-chain logistics demand reached 381.4 million tons in 2025, up 4.5 percent year on year.