Shanghai's first China-Europe freight train service launched

Shanghai, China's economic hub, launched a freight train service to Hamburg, Germany on Tuesday, marking the first cross-border railway service between Shanghai and Europe.

The "Shanghai Express" is loaded with 50 containers with cargoes such as apparels, auto parts, solar panels, tableware, furniture, daily necessities, machine parts and lamps.

It will leave China via the Alataw Pass in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and arrive in Hamburg about two weeks later.

According to Shanghai Customs, trains along this route will run regularly every week, while new routes will be opened, providing new logistics options for enterprises at home and abroad.

According to China Railway, Europe-China freight trains have made a total of 10,030 trips in the first 8 months of the year, up by 32 percent.