The Trans-Eurasia-Express, which runs between Qingdao and Mannheim, Germany, was opened on Feb 18 in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province.

A train, carrying 100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of chemical raw materials, vehicle parts, daily necessities and other goods worth about $2.5 million, left from the Multimodal Transport Center at the SCO demonstration zone. It is expected to take 19 days to arrive in Mannheim.

Customs officials inspect the international freight train heading for Mannheim, Germany in Qingdao. [Photo/Qingdao News]

On the same day, a return train loaded with high-grade board goods departed from Mannheim. It will travel across Poland, Belarus, Russia, Mongolia and other countries and enter China through Erenhot Port in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. It is expected to arrive in Qingdao in 22 days.

The two-way freight train line crosses the Eurasian continent for more than 10,000 kilometers, traveling through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and Germany. It connects Germany's industrial heartland, Mannheim and the Rhine-Neckar area, with Qingdao, a city at the forefront of China's opening-up. According to officials in Qingdao, it will be a fresh starting point for cooperation between the two sides.

On Feb 18, Qingdao hosts a launch ceremony for the Qingdao-Mannheim two-way freight train. [Photo/Qingdao News]

According to Shandong Hi-Speed Group, the operator of the Qilu freight train services, more than 1,800 China-Europe freight trains were operated in Shandong in 2021. The province now has 51 international freight train lines connecting it to 54 locations in 23 Belt and Road countries.