Six China-Europe freight trains named "Zhongyu", loaded with commodities including tractors, electronics, clothing materials and daily necessities, have departed from Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xinxiang, Luohe and Nanyang cities in Central China's Henan province for Europe and Central Asia. They will also visit Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, according to a CCTV news report.

"Yu" is an abbreviation of Henan province, and the "Zhongyu" trains provide specific express railway service between the province and Europe.

Among the six freight trains, one from Luoyang carries tractors, refractory materials, mechanical and electrical equipment and furniture produced by Sinomach subsidiary YTO Group Corporation (YTO) and will leave China via Horgos, a major port for China-Europe freight trains, en route to Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan.

The neatly arranged "Dongfanghong" series tractors, developed by YTO, are a striking part of the news report. [Photo/YTO]

The launch of six "Zhongyu" China-Europe freight trains was not only a new milestone for Henan's Land Silk Road, but also an important step for Henan's pursuit of higher-level opening-up with its land port resources integrated, freight trains coordinated and hub economy developed.

The "Zhongyu" China-Europe freight train, loaded with YTO products, leaves for Kazakhstan's largest city Almaty from the Dongfanghong (Luoyang) International Land Port. [Photo/YTO]

The Dongfanghong (Luoyang) International Land Port, undertaken by YTO, utilized comprehensive resources of the company's old industrial base such as manufacturing and transportation, and now carries the main functions of the Luoyang production-service national logistics hub, an effort to navigate a high-level opening-up to the world.

Based on China-Europe freight trains, Henan has been accelerating the construction of an international logistics channel covering Eurasia since 2014. So far, Henan has formed a freight network with seven exit-entry ports and 16 direct routes that has made over 6,000 trips (12 percent of China's total) and covers more than 130 cities in over 30 countries.

As an active contributor to the Belt and Road initiative, Sinomach YTO has heightened efforts to develop the Dongfanghong (Luoyang) International Land Port. It has launched two international freight trains from Luoyang to Central Asia and Russia, and two rail-sea combined freight trains from Luoyang to Qingdao in Shandong province and Ningbo in Zhejiang province.

So far this year, 18 international freight trains and 43 rail-sea combined freight trains have been launched with a combined container throughput of 6,602 twenty-foot equivalent units, an increase of 150.44 percent year-on-year.