The international freight train "Linyi," which will operate from Linyi in Shandong province to Gwadar Port in Pakistan was put into operation on April the 30th. The train will pass via Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Linyi has over 130 specialized wholesale markets, with a total trading volume reaching 300 billion yuan in 2015. Kashgar is also an important trade port in Western China. In recently years, the cargo trade volume between the two cities has continually increased. In 2015, over 400,000 tons of cargo from Liyin was transported to western Asia via Kashgar.
Cargo gets transported to Kashgar by train and then transported to Gwadar Port by truck. The whole journey is over 8,000 kilometers and takes 10 days. The Linyi freight train is expected to reach an annual freight volume of 400,000 tons and realize a trade value of 2 billion yuan.
Source: People's Daily Online