Horgos Port, a key railway hub in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has handled more than 7,000 China-Europe (Central Asia) freight train trips since the beginning of this year.
According to China Railway Urumqi Group, the port operates 90 active routes connecting 46 cities and regions across 18 countries.
The cargo transported includes more than 200 categories such as auto parts, electrical and electronic products, construction materials, steel, cultural and sports goods, and daily necessities.
In May, a reform to expedite customs clearance was introduced at the port, reducing the passage time for imported goods from 2–3 days to under 16 hours (a 70% decrease). The processing time for local export goods was cut from six hours to just one (an 80% decrease). Real-time data sharing between customs and railway authorities has enabled live tracking of logistics and trains, boosting overall clearance efficiency by more than 50%.
Located on the China-Kazakhstan border, Horgos Port and Alashankou (Alataw Pass) Port serve as Xinjiang’s two main rail gateways.
According to China State Railway Group, China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains transported more than 220,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of finished automobiles in 2024.
As of June, 128 Chinese cities have been connected to the freight train network, which extends to 229 cities in 26 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries.