WUHAN — A freight train left Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, on June 16, heading for Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

The train, carrying 43 containers of cargo weighing 800 metric tons, will take around 15 days to reach its destination, covering around 8,000 km in the process. It is the first direct China-Europe freight train between Central China and Ukraine.

The goods on the train include chemical raw materials, agricultural machinery and equipment, aluminum frames, syringes, and backpacks that are manufactured in Wuhan and nearby areas.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Wuhan and Kiev, and the new route is expected to optimize transportation and further deepen the pragmatic cooperation between the two cities, said Yuan Qiong, general manager of train operator Wuhan Asia Europe Supply Chain Management Co Ltd.

The China-Europe rail-freight service was resumed in Wuhan on March 28, as the novel coronavirus epidemic ebbed away. As of June 14, 93 trains had departed from the city-bound for Europe, with capacity recovering to around the same level as in the same period last year.