New China-Europe freight train route links north China city with Tashkent

SHIJIAZHUANG, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A freight train left Langfang City in north China's Hebei Province on Friday morning, bound for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, marking the opening of a new China-Europe freight train route.

The train will complete a journey of approximately 6,000 kilometers, leaving China via the Horgos Pass in Xinjiang, passing through Kazakhstan and finally arriving at its destination 15 days after its departure.

The train is carrying more than 1,400 tonnes of goods, with a total value of over 14.5 million yuan (about 2.09 million U.S. dollars). The cargo includes cotton goods and furniture hardware.

Langfang's imports and exports continued to grow this year. The total volume of the city's foreign trade from January to March was 11.83 billion U.S. dollars, up 23.5 percent year on year.

Zhang Chao, deputy director of the Langfang Municipal Development and Reform Commission, said the launch of the new China-Europe freight train route will effectively reduce transportation times and costs of goods between Langfang and Central Asia, smoothen enterprises' industrial and supply chains, and provide a strong guarantee for local international logistics channels and export-oriented economic development.