A freight train that travels between Yiwu, Zhejiang province, and Minsk, Belarus, is parked at the Yiwu Railway Station. [Photo/zgyww.cn] 

The Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe train service has now officially resumed operations amid the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, and a freight train loaded with 86 containers of automobile parts departed from Yiwu, East China’s Zhejiang province, on Feb 10.  

The train is expected to arrive in Minsk, Belarus after a 14-day journey.  

All units at Yiwu Customs and the Yiwu Railway Station have strictly followed epidemic prevention protocols so as to prevent against cross-infection. 

The Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe train service, which made its maiden journey from Yiwu to Madrid in Spain in 2014, now travels along 11 international routes to 37 countries and regions. 

These routes include trains between Yiwu and Central Asia, Spain, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Belarus, the UK, the Czech Republic, and Poland, according to local authorities. 

As of Feb 10, a total of 48 round-about journeys have been made from Yiwu, transporting 4,094　TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of goods, an increase of 65.7 percent over the same period in 2019.　 

"2020 will witness the 1,000th journey of the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe service and is a critical year for Yiwu in the building of a pilot zone for cross-border e-commerce," said a spokesperson for the market development bureau of Yiwu. 

"We will do all we can to streamline service procedures, improve clearance efficiency, and make Yiwu an international small commodity hub with an attractive business environment."