HOHHOT — China’s largest land border port, Manzhouli, has seen growth of China-Europe freight trains in the first eight months of this year.

A total of 849 inbound and outbound trains connecting China and Europe passed through Manzhouli in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region from January to August, while the number for all of 2016 was 846, according to port authorities.

The port, which borders Russia to the north and sits close to Mongolia to the west, saw its first container train in September 2013, heading from East China’s Suzhou to Poland.

The port has been increasingly busy under the Belt and Road Initiative. Currently, it has more than 30 cross-border train routes.

During the first eight months, the number of inbound and outbound freight trains connecting the southwestern municipality of Chongqing and Europe was 412, up by over 70 percent of the same period last year, according to Chongqing customs.

The trains have also carried a growing variety of cargo. In the past, the exports were mainly IT products and parts, while now they include machinery, daily necessities and international mail. The imports include cars, auto parts, food and medicine.