HUANGPU SHANGHAI

A freight train loaded with auto parts, home appliances, textiles, elevator equipment and other goods departed from the Horgos railway port in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on September 3, heading for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. [Photo/IC]

A freight train loaded with auto parts, home appliances, textiles, elevator equipment and other goods departed from the Horgos railway port in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on September 3, heading for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

The train took off from a freight railway station in Xiahuayuan district of Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province, on August 29, and will pass Kazakhstan before arriving at its destination in about 15 days.

It's the first China-Europe (Central Asia) freight train to take off from Zhangjiakou, and is aptly named "Jingzhang", which represents the combined cities of Beijing and Zhangjiakou.

The train carries 59 containers with 1,322 metric tons of cargo, valued at 20.99 million yuan ($2.89 million), according to a report by China Central Television.

"This train will help competitive products from Hebei to enter the markets of Uzbekistan and other places in Central Asia, effectively providing a more convenient logistics basis for the economic and trade communication between China and Central Asia," said Guo Chunlei, manager of Xinjiang Zhonglian Haitong International Freight Forwarders Co.

The district is planning to build itself into a logistics center for goods storage, exhibition, trade and transportation, aiming to serve the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and nearby places.

In the decade since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward, the convenience brought by China-Europe freight train services has benefited the world and become a welcomed example of global public good.

To date, the total number of train routes passing through the Horgos railway port has reached 78, which has the capacity to reach 18 countries and 45 cities and regions overseas.