URUMQI — A freight train loaded with automobiles, clothing and other goods on the morning of July 26 departed from Alataw Pass, a major rail port in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, destined for Malaszewicze in Poland.

It was the 20,000th China-Europe freight train to be handled via Alataw Pass since such freight train services started in 2011.

The average annual increase of China-Europe freight trains that pass the inland port is now 35.8 percent, with the total freight volume exceeding 10 million tonnes.

Chinese customs authorities have facilitated procedures to allow the trains to pass 24 hours a day.

Alataw Pass has so far launched 28 China-Europe freight train routes, linking over 20 countries in Central Asia and Europe, with more than 200 types of cargo on board.