During the implementation of Phase I of Transport and Communications Decade for Asia and the Pacific (1985-1990), ESCAP, in cooperation with the Ports and Waterways Institute of Louisiana State University and George Washington University, United States of America, prepared a training package for inland water transport (IWT) trainers, which consisted of six modules covering IWT infrastructure, IWT operation and management, planning and operation of inland ports, navigation and operation safety, economic and financial analysis, and IWT training management. Those modules were presented at three regional training of trainers courses held in 1990 and 1991. Following those regional training activities, some country-level training courses were to be organized by the member countries themselves in order to achieve the maximum benefit from those modules and training activities. In view of the difficulty faced by the member countries in organizing such activities, a training course, namely the Regional IWT Training of Trainers Course, was organized from 9 to 22 June 1996 at Hohai University, Nanjing, China, with financial assistance from the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of China, which aimed to demonstrate the combination of the ESCAP training modules with local experience. Seven papers focusing on Chinese experiences in the field of IWT were prepared by' Chinese experts for this training course as a supplement to the IWT training of trainers modules. The papers contained in this publication are those presented in the training course, and they can be used for the country-level training of trainers courses, together with the early IWT training of trainers modules.