China-Europe (Qilu) Zibo-Jinan-Tashkent special train operated

A train carrying ceramic glaze worth $735,000 departed from the Dongjia town railway freight center in Jinan on March 10, becoming the first special China-Europe (Qilu) freight train to operate.

This train, after consolidating cargo in Zibo, continued to Jinan and departed from the Horgos Port, covering a total distance of 4,000 kilometers. It is expected to arrive in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in about 20 days.

The special China-Europe (Qilu) freight train connects nine Shandong cities - Jinan, Zibo, Dongying, Jining, Tai'an, Dezhou, Liaocheng, Binzhou, and Heze, all of which are in the Yellow River Basin.

A conference on promoting the integrated development of China-Europe freight train services in the nine Shandong cities in the Yellow River Basin was held in Jinan on July 13, 2023. The nine cities aimed to create a new platform for the opening-up and resource aggregation of the Yellow River Basin and to advance the cooperation of the China-Europe freight train in the cities in the Yellow River Basin in Shandong province, creating new economic growth points for the province.

The launch of the Zibo-Jinan-Tashkent special train is part of efforts to integrate the development of China-Europe freight trains in the nine cities and signifies Jinan's further determination to open-up and connect.

As of the end of February this year, Jinan has operated 130 China-Europe freight trains, an increase of 56.6 percent compared to the previous year.