At 10:38 on the morning of May 12, Train 81942 departed from Yiwu West Railway Station with 100 TEUs of solar photovoltaic modules, the first sea-railway combined transport from Yiwu to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the world’s largest port in terms of cargo throughput and the third largest regarding container throughput. It is also the largest port in the south of China for sea-railway combined transport. With the joint efforts of companies such as Yiwu International Land Port Group, goods from the mainland are continuously exported to the world through sea-rail combined transport.

Yiwu is not a coastal city, but thanks to the Yiwu-Ningbo-Zhoushan Corridor, it is now connected to the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, creating a logistics gateway to the sea.

This route is another customized international multimodal transport service co-created by the Yiwu Railway Department and COSCO Shipping Lines (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. for the photovoltaic industry in Yiwu. After arriving at the Chuanshan District of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, these photovoltaic products will be exported to India, Australia, and other countries along the Maritime Silk Road.

Sea-rail combined transport has set up a fast channel between Yiwu—the world’s capital of small commodities—and the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the world’s largest cargo throughput port. It only takes six hours to complete the whole journey at the fastest. Thus the railway, port, and the Maritime Silk Road are integrated into a large international logistics gateway.

Yiwu is one of the most important export sources for the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and an important station of the Belt and Road Initiative. Since the beginning of this year, the Yiwu Railway Department has strengthened cooperation with Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, shipping companies, customs, and other companies and departments to promote the integration of railway, customs, port, and shipping service. From January to April this year, the volume of Yiwu sea-rail combined transport reached 33,400 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 167.6%, showing strong momentum. (By Xu Zhaohui, translated by Li Ziyi, edited by Kendra Fiddler)