SHIJIAZHUANG, May 13 -- A new international freight train route began operations on Monday, linking Huanghua Port in the city of Cangzhou, in north China's Hebei Province, with the Russian capital Moscow.

The cargo train will travel approximately 8,000 km over about 15 days, starting at the Huanghua Port and passing through the border port of Erenhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region before reaching Russia, according to Ma Fengxiang, chairman of Cangzhou Ganghai Logistics Co., Ltd.

The train is loaded with 50 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers of goods valued at about 20 million yuan (about 2.82 million U.S. dollars), including auto parts and mechanical equipment.

Huanghua Port is a major shipping hub in north China. Currently, it has maintained trade with more than 200 ports in over 40 countries and regions around the world.