HANGZHOU - The number of Europe-bound freight trains departing from the city of Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province reached 529 this year as of Wednesday, surpassing the total number of last year, according to the train operator.

Dubbed Yixin'ou in Chinese (Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe), the cargo line is 13,052 km long, connecting China's major small commodity hub with Europe.

A train loaded with 100 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) of daily necessities, Christmas articles, and other goods departed from Yiwu on Wednesday afternoon, heading for the Belarussian capital of Minsk. It was the 529th China-Europe freight train to leave the city since Jan 1.

Statistics from the train service operator Yiwu Tianmeng Industrial Investment Co Ltd show that China-Europe freight trains departing from Yiwu have delivered a total of 43,802 TEUs of cargo this year, a year-on-year increase of 186.5 percent.

Feng Xubin, chairman of the company, said the Yixin'ou freight trains offer stable and safe transportation of imported and exported cargo, which ensures the smooth flow of logistics and stable supply of anti-epidemic, production, and living materials along the route.