A freight train carrying 40 TEUs of hardware products arrives at Wenzhou Port. The cargo will then be shipped to Southeast Asian countries. [Photo/66wz.com]

Forty TEUs of hardware products recently set sail from Wenzhou Port in East China's Zhejiang province for Southeastern Asian countries, marking the start of direct sea-rail combined cargo transportation between the two regions.

The cargo was first transported by rail from Yongkang, a county-level city, to Wenzhou Port, and then shipped to Southeastern Asian port cities, such as Laem Chabang in Thailand and Manila in the Philippines.

According to the operation team of the sea-railway combined cargo route, Yongkang was chosen as the starting point as it neighbors Yiwu city, which is home to the world's largest small commodities market and has an abundant source of supplies.

"With the opening of the new route, time needed for cargo transportation between East China's Zhejiang and Southeast Asia will be shortened by two to three days," said the director of the operation team.

Wenzhou is currently striving to develop itself into an important port city in Zhejiang and become a close trade partner with Southeast Asian countries.