Foreign journalists amazed by development of China-Europe freight trains

(People's Daily Online/Yasef Ananda)

Foreign journalists spoke highly of and were amazed by the development of China-Europe freight trains as they visited Xi’an International Trade and Logistics Park in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, on Sept. 23.

With the aim of exploring the modern charm of the ancient capital of China, and witnessing China’s development achievements, some of the journalists who recently came to China for a short-term media workshop under the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) came to Xi’an, which used to be the capital of 13 dynasties of China.

The moment they entered the lobby of Xi’an International Trade and Logistics Park, journalists from Spain and Latin America were attracted immediately by a big screen, where real-time data on such information as the routes, number of trains, and cargoes imported and exported via the Chang’an China-Europe freight trains which depart from Xi’an were displayed.

As the first international freight trains of Xi’an, the Chang’an China-Europe freight trains have become a symbol of the city’s international logistics. The main route of the Chang’an international freight trains, with a length of 9,850 kilometers, starts from Xi’an, passes countries including Russia, and extends as far as Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

In the past, it took about 50 days to transport cargoes from Xi’an to Germany, as the goods needed to be shipped to the ports in coastal areas first, and then to Germany, according to Zhao Yue, vice general manager of Xi’an International Trade and Logistics Park.

With Chang’an freight trains, goods now can be directly transported to Germany from Xi’an, and the whole journey only took around 15 days, said Zhao, adding that the transportation cost with the Chang’an freight trains is one sixth of that with other transportation means.

Last year, the Chang’an China-Europe freight trains made a total of 1,235 trips, disclosed Zhao, noting that the figure is expected to rise to the level of 1,800 to 2,000 this year.

An Argentine journalist films in the park. (People's Daily Online/Yasef Ananda)

It can be imagined that these trains have not only promoted the economic development of China, but brought more job opportunities and economic sources to the countries along the routes, said a reporter of La Nación, one of the major newspapers in Costa Rica.

The velocity of the development of China-Europe freight trains is so amazing, exclaimed a reporter from Notimex, the official news agency of Mexico.

At first there were only a few trains for the routes, then the number of the China-Europe freight trains has been constantly doubled, said the reporter, stressing that the number of the trains will continue to grow in the future, which signals huge potential.