Alashankou railway station a gateway to China

By Li Peigang and Li Jingrong: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, August 28, 2018

The gateway of the People's Republic of China, located in the Alashankou City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The photo is taken on Aug. 16, 2018. [Photo by Li Peigang/China.org.cn]

The direct freight train service connecting China and Europe, officially known as the "China Railway Express," has been welcomed by the market for expanding the range of solutions for logistics.

Take the frontier inspection station of Alashankou, a border city located in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as an example. Built in June 1990, nearly 70 percent of all "China Railway Express" freight trains now pass through the station heading for European countries every year, playing a significant role in promoting the country's "Belt and Road" Initiative in recent years.

Up to now, more than 6,000 freight trains have entered and exited the frontier inspection station. Statistics from the Alashankou city customs authorities show that, a total of 1,328 freight trains passed through the station in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 32.40 percent; with the volume of railway freight reaching 577,600 tons, a year-on-year increase of 55.86 percent.

It's also worth mentioning that, a group of young militiamen from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps are on duty patrolling the railway lines. With an average age of 23 years old, these militiamen work day and night to ensure the security of the railway lines and the smooth operation of trade and logistics between China and European countries.

To better perform their work, the militiamen undergo seven hours of training every day. They patrol the six-km railway lines twice a day, rain or shine.