On Nov 23, the "Qiaoshang" freight train carrying 100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of groceries, auto parts, nanometer materials, toys and other goods, departed from Yiwu West Station in East China's Zhejiang province and embarked on a 13,000-km journey to Madrid, the capital of Spain.

This was the 663rd China-Europe freight train service between Yiwu and Madrid since the service was launched on Nov 18, 2014.

There were 242 Yiwu-Madrid freight train trips in the first eight months of this year and the number of TEUs transported was double that of the same period last year. The number of Yiwu-bound freight trains surged 10 times.

As of Nov 18, a total of 3,200 Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe freight train trips have been completed over the past seven years.

"Qiaoshang" refers to Chinese-born merchants living overseas. The cargo on the train mostly comprised China-made products ordered by Chinese-born businesspeople in European countries.

In the mid-1990s, thousands of Yiwu residents spotted the huge business opportunities in the overseas markets and moved to foreign countries where they set up trading companies.

It was said that many Chinese expats in Madrid were moved to tears when they saw the first China-Europe freight train arrived in the Spanish city seven years ago.

A freight train named "Qiaoshang" departs from Yiwu West Station on Nov 23. [Photo/zgyww.cn]