Shoes to be exported via the China-Europe (Xiamen) Freight Train are piled on storage racks, Sept 2, 2017. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The 12,000-kilometer journey took only one-third of the time needed by ship and cost only one-fourth of the price of air transport.

Regular freight train services are available on four international routes between Xiamen and Lodz (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Moscow (Russia), linking 12 cities in nine countries.

Thanks to the rail link, Xiamen's exports to Poland by rail saw a tenfold increase in 2016, making rail transport the second most important means of conveyance for Xiamen's exports after air transport.

Xiamen now handles not only inbound and outbound logistics but also the transit of logistics for neighboring provinces and other ports on the coast. As of July 15, the regular train service had completed a total of 149 journeys, carrying 2.2 billion yuan worth of goods.