Zhangjiakou's first freight train takes off for Uzbekistan

A freight train loaded with auto parts, home appliances, textiles, elevator equipment and other goods departed from the Horgos railway port in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Sunday, heading for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

The train took off from a freight railway station in Xiahuayuan district of Zhangjiakou in North China's Hebei province on Tuesday, and will pass Kazakhstan before arriving at its destination in about 15 days.

It's the first China-Europe (Central Asia) freight-train to take off from Zhangjiakou, and is aptly named Jingzhang, which represents the combined cities of Beijing and Zhangjiakou.

The train carries 59 containers with 1,322 metric tons of cargo valued at 20.99 million yuan ($2.89 million), according to a report by China Central Television.

"The operation of this train will help competitive products from Hebei to enter the markets of Uzbekistan and other places in Central Asia, effectively providing a more convenient logistics basis for the economic and trade communication between China and Central Asia," Guo Chunlei, manager of Xinjiang Zhonglian Haitong International Freight Forwarders Co, was quoted as saying.

In the future, more goods from Zhangjiakou and neighboring areas will be exported via the trains, including automobiles, auto engines and equipment for winter sports, according to local government.

The district is planning to build itself into a logistics center for goods storage, exhibition, trade and transportation, aiming to serve the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and nearby places.