Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, is preparing to launch a second freight train service to south Asia.

The new line will start from Lanzhou, travelling through Kashgar in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the Gwadar Port of Pakistan, Xu Chunhua, director of Lanzhou International Trade and Logistic Park, said at the China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair.

In May last year, a rail and road cargo service opened between Lanzhou and Kathmandu, Nepal.

Xu said the cargo service has been welcomed by south Asian countries.

In 2016, bilateral trade between China and Nepal was over 3 billion yuan (about 440 million U.S. dollars), and the volume is forecast to hit 10 billion yuan this year.