Train X8074 from Prague, capital of Czech Republic arrives in Yiwu of Zhejiang province on Aug 4 after a 16-day journey. [Photo by Lyu Bin/Xinhua]

The first-ever export train from the Czech Republic to China arrived in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang province on Aug 4, after a 16-day journey.

Traveling through Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, 82 standard containers full of European goods to China, including auto parts, wine, milk powder and Czech specialty goods like crystal products and beer were unloaded and checked by the Yiwu customs office.

These high-quality goods will be sold in China and to the rest of the world via Yiwu, the largest circulation and distribution center for small commodities in the world.

It is the first China-EU train to depart from Europe to China. It's also a new international route connecting Yiwu with Prague (the Czech Republic). In addition to Prague, the city has eight other routes to transport goods to other countries, including Madrid (Spain), Teheran (Iran), Mazar-i-Sharif (Afghanistan), Chelyabinsk Oblast (Russia), Riga (Latvia) and Minsk (Belarus).

The China-Europe Express, an important part of the country's Belt and Road Initiative, has brought great growth to Zhejiang's imports and exports.

After three years' development, there are two trains departing from Yiwu and one arriving here every week. The data from Hangzhou Customs show that from 2013 to 2016, the volume of imports and exports by rail tripled. In 2016, their value reached three billion yuan ($446.4 yuan).

This year, from January to July, the number of containers on the trains totaled 6,422, a year-on-year increase of 68.82 percent.

Customs officers watch the unloading of containers from the Prague-Yiwu train in Yiwu, Zhejiang province on Aug 4. [Photo by Lyu Bin/Xinhua]

Customs officers check goods arriving from Europe by train in Yiwu, Zhejiang province on Aug 4. [Photo/China-blue News]