JINAN, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The first two-way China-Europe freight train route linking east China's port city of Qingdao in Shandong Province with Mannheim in Germany entered service on Friday.
Aerial photo taken on March 11, 2020 shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Mannheim of Germany departing from the Xinzhu Railway Station in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo by Tang Zhenjiang/Xinhua)
On the same day, a train loaded with sheet materials left Mannheim and is expected to enter China via Erenhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and arrive in Qingdao in mid-March.
In 2021 alone, over 1,800 China-Europe freight trains were handled in Shandong Province. Via a total of 51 international train routes, goods from Shandong can reach 54 cities and 23 countries along the Belt and Road, according to the group.