North China city launches first China-Europe freight train

Aerial photo taken on April 17, 2021 shows a freight train bound for Hamburg, Germany departing from the Shijiazhuang international land port in north China's Hebei Province. (Photo by Zhang Xiaofeng/Xinhua)

SHIJIAZHUANG, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The city of Langfang in north China's Hebei Province saw its first China-Europe freight train leave the station Saturday.

The freight train, carrying 55 40-foot containers, will complete a journey of 7,800 km. It will leave the country via Erenhot Port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, pass through Mongolia and finally arrive at its destination in Moscow 17 days later.

The goods, with a total value of nearly 20 million yuan (about 2.88 million U.S. dollars), mainly include light industrial products, food, clothing and daily necessities, which are from local companies in Langfang, and import and export companies in surrounding areas.

The freight train service is of great significance to further promoting the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and integrating into the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the city's development and reform commission.