A new freight train service linking the East China port city of Xiamen with Budapest, capital of Hungary, started on Jan 19, making it the newest China-Europe freight train route.
At about 10:45 am, a train with 35 containers left Haicang District station in Xiamen, carrying about $3.5 million of goods, including electric products, clothes, shoes and construction materials.
The 11,595 kilometers journey, which takes one stop at China's southwest city of Xi'an, will take 18 days.
It will operate every Friday and creates easier access for products from Xiamen and southeast Asia to travel to Europe.
The city has rail routes to five European countries, including Germany and Russia, with more than 200 trips made since services to Europe were launched in August 2015.
China has decided to extend its visa waiver policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom starting from Feb 17.
Forty-one new port-of-entry duty-free shops have been established nationwide, with Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, Xiamen Wutong Passenger Wharf, and Xiamen International Cruise Center included on the list.
