On July 30, a total of 31 reporters from national and local media set off on a journey to Europe by car, travelling 15000 km along the route of the Yuxin'ou International Railway (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe International Railway), with the aim of promoting the railway line and also the countries along the route.
The trip – under the slogan "experience China through the modern silk road" - started in Chongqing, and took over 40 days, passing through Xi’an, Lanzhou and Urumchi in China and crossing the Alataw Pass into Kazakhstan, and then to Russia, Belarus and Poland before reaching the final destination - Duisburg in Germany.
The Yuxin'ou or Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe International Railway, which started operation in 2011, is a freight railway connecting Chongqing and Europe. It helps companies reduce the cost and time to transport goods to Europe – and also facilitates the industrial upgrading of Chongqing which thus holds a strategic position for logistics and trade.
John Edwards, the UK trade commissioner for China, praised Chongqing over its rise as a burgeoning center in intelligent manufacturing.