A China-Europe (Xiamen) freight train departs from Haicang Station in the Xiamen Area of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone on Nov 20. [Photo by Wang Xieyun/Xiamen Daily]

A China-Europe (Xiamen) freight train departed from Haicang Station in the Xiamen Area of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone on Nov 20 and is expected to arrive at Minsk, Belarus, in 16 days.

It is the first direct China-Europe freight train from Xiamen to Minsk, marking the debut of a new route for Xiamen's China-Europe freight train.

The train was loaded with 50 large containers of office supplies, shoes, kitchenware, generators and other goods valued at more than $3 million.

According to an official from the Xiamen FTZ, the new route will facilitate international logistics for Xiamen companies' globalization of foreign trade.

The direct freight train is estimated to reduce transportation time from Xiamen to Minsk by half, which will contribute to the improvement of Xiamen logistics' competitiveness, said a manager from China-Europe (Xiamen) Railway Express.

Over the past seven years, China-Europe (Xiamen) freight train has opened routes to Europe, Asia, and Russia, and can arrive at destinations including Lodz in Poland, Hamburg in Germany, Budapest in Hungary, Moscow in Russia, and Tashkent in Uzbekistan.

Statistics showed that as of the end of October, a total of 1,189 China-Europe (Xiamen) freight train routes had been opened, carrying goods worth nearly 30 billion yuan ($4.19 billion).