BEIJING — China's waterway freight volume rose 4.9 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of the year, data from the Ministry of Transport showed.

Around 4.84 billion metric tons of cargo was transported through waterway during this period, according to the ministry.

In July alone, China's waterway freight volume stood at 738.99 million tons, the ministry said.

Central China's Hubei province led the expansion among the provincial-level regions, reporting a year-on-year growth of 24 percent in the January-July period, followed by South China's Hainan province and Northeast China's Liaoning province.