On the afternoon of August 17, at the Changbei Freight Yard of the Changsha Cargo Center of the Guangzhou Railway Group, the newly opened Changsha-Tilburg block train of Hunan-Europe Express Line started its journey. With a total of 41 containers, it was loaded with Hunan's electronic products, shoes and clothing, optical cables, hardware, machinery spare parts, and other goods. It will travel from south to north for more than 10,000 kilometers, exit through Erenhot, and pass through Mongolia, Russia, and Belarus before getting to Tilburg. It takes 17 days to deliver Hunan’s specialties to the destination. The route of Changsha to Tilburg is the seventh one of the China-Europe Express Line after Hamburg, Warsaw, Moscow, Tashkent, Minsk, and Budapest routes opened.

As of the end of 2017, the Hunan-Europe Express Line has a total of 320 trains operated, with the import and export goods of 26,000 TEUs valued at 1.3 billion USD. It has become an important foundation for Hunan's participation in the construction of the “Belt and Road” and an impetus to implement the “Opening up and Rise” Strategy.

Source: en.changsha.gov.cn