When a cargo train with 41 container cars left the Jiuyuan logistics park, in the city of Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the morning of July 27, for Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, it marked the very beginning of rail service from the region to Central Asia as part of the 21st century "Silk Road".

The 4,332-kilometer land bridge passes through Baotou-Lanzhou, Linhe-Hami and Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway lines and crosses the border at Alashankou, Xinjiang then on to Astana, Kazakhstan after an 8-day trip, making it much shorter than any previous routes. It is expected to increase Baotou's economic significance for China and increase trade in Chinese goods, so the city expects to have $3-billion worth of exports and imports by 2020.

Source: China daily.com