New land-sea cargo route connects China, Germany

New land-sea cargo delivery services were launched on Saturday between Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and Mannheim in Germany. 

A train carrying 50 containers loaded with electronics and cross-border e-commerce commodities departed from the Xi'an international port station at midnight on New Year's Day, marking the opening of the new route.

After arriving at Saint Petersburg, Russia, the containers will be delivered to the port of Mukran in Germany by vessel, before being reloaded onto a train to the final destination of Mannheim.

The entire trip spanning some 12,800 km takes around 16 to 18 days.

The new route avoids operational disruptions caused by the overcrowding at several busy stations along traditional paths via Eastern European countries, said Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of the Xi'an free trade port construction and operation company.