[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The growing international reach of Yiwu and its commodities is largely due to the innovative initiatives that have been implemented by Chinese authorities over the years, among them the opening of the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe cargo train network, also known as the China-Europe Railway Express freight train service.

In November 2014, the first China-Europe freight train was officially launched, which could make the journey from Yiwu to Madrid in just 21 days.

A little more than a year later, in February 2016, a route connecting Yiwu with Teheran was opened. It was 30 days faster than the maritime route from Shanghai to Iran's Bandar Abbas port.

Yiwu customs figures indicate that as of Dec 7, the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe freight train service has operated over 1,500 trips transporting 124,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of goods, a year-on-year increase of 26 percent.

Since the Yiwu platform, which specializes in international freight train service, was unveiled in 2013, it has handled more than 4,900 trips transporting over 403,000 TEUs of goods. Furthermore, 18 direct international railway freight lines from Yiwu to more than 50 countries and 160 cities are now operating.

Watch the video to learn how the China-Europe Railway Express freight train service benefits international trade.