Accompanied by the rumble of sirens, the first China – Europe Railway Express (Qilu) SCO Demonstration Area – Hungary- Serbia, coordinated and operated by Shandong Hi-Speed Group, was successfully launched from the SCO Demonstration Area Multimodal Transport Center (Qingdao Central Station of CRCT) on July 19. Loaded with mechanical equipment, living supplies and steel pipes, a total of 100 standard containers, with a total weight of about 897 tons and the value of about RMB 20.57 million, the train would leave China from A’lashankou and arrive in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, in about 20 days. Upon arrival, some of the goods would be transported by barge along Danube to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. So far, there are 17 “Qilu” international train routes in Qingdao, reaching 51 cities in 22 countries along the SCO and the “the Belt and Road”.

As the first European country signing the cooperation document on “the Belt and Road” with China, Hungary, located in the hinterland of Europe, is not only an important transportation hub in Central and Eastern Europe, but also an important logistics distribution center and transit center for Asian countries to enter the European market. Located on the transportation arteries between Danube River and the Balkan Peninsula, Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is an important node in the layout of the “Qilu” oversea location. The smooth operation of the train will successfully establish a new bridge between SCO Demonstration Area, Hungary and Serbia, and promote economic and cultural exchanges between Qingdao and Central and Eastern Europe.

With the strong support of the China -SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area, Jiaozhou Customs, and Qingdao Central Station of CRCT, the “Qilu” continued developing with the momentum in Qingdao in the first half of the year, with 430 trains accumulatively, an increase of about 45% year-on-year, ranking first in the province. Among them, the number of return trains reached 31 times that of the same period in 2021, fully playing the important role of international logistics channels and making positive contributions to building a new highland of opening up in our province in an all-round way and accelerating the “going ahead and opening up a new situation”.