First 'Silk Road' train from China to Britain arrives in London after a marathon 7,500-mile journey

  • Train pulled in to Barking in East London after an 18-day journey from Yiwu
  • It passed Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France
  • The arrival marking a fresh milestone in China's push to build commercial links across Europe and Asia 

The route known as the 'Silk Road' once helped bring a wealth of goods from China to Europe.  

Today, the arrival of a freight train in east London has marked a new era for the 2,000-year-old trading route. 

It is the first freight train service from China to the UK.

The train pulled in to Barking after an 18-day journey from Yiwu, a wholesale market town in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.

The first train on an inaugural China-Britain freight service arrived in London on today after a 7,500-mile journey. The arrival marking a fresh milestone in China's push to build commercial links across Europe and Asia

The first train on an inaugural China-Britain freight service arrived in London on today after a 7,500-mile journey. The arrival marking a fresh milestone in China's push to build commercial links across Europe and Asia

It had passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France, finally crossing under the English Channel into Britain.

The consignment would have taken nearly twice as long to reach Britain by sea.

Laden with 68 twenty-foot equivalent containers, the train brought in a cargo of small commodities including household items, clothes, fabrics, bags, and suitcases.

Ten containers were taken off at the German hub of Duisburg. 

The remainder arrived in London at Barking's Eurohub freight terminal.

The train had passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France, finally crossing under the English Channel into Britain

The train had passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France, finally crossing under the English Channel into Britain

The service is faster than sending goods by sea. Weekly trains will initially be run to assess demand

The service is faster than sending goods by sea. Weekly trains will initially be run to assess demand

The train pulled in to Barking in East London after an 18-day journey from Yiwu, a wholesale market town in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang

The train pulled in to Barking in East London after an 18-day journey from Yiwu, a wholesale market town in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang

WHAT WAS THE SILK ROAD?

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade route that ran through central Asia connecting China to the Mediterranean Sea.

It was initially named after the lucrative trade in Chinese silk under the Han Dynasty in around 202BC.

But quickly other precious items such as jade, gold, silver, bronze and spice were also transported initially between China and Egypt, then later to ancient Greece and Rome and eventually to Medieval Europe.

While many sea route were opened up by sailors to transport goods, merchants crossing overland were thought to have travelled by northern and southern routes that bypassed the Takliamakan Desert in north west China.

The northern route took several paths through Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

The southern route ran through the Karakoram mountains that sit on the border of Pakistan, India and China.

They merged again near Merv in Turkmenistan before continuing west to the south of the Caspian Sea.

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A fanfare of costumed dancers, drummers and choreographers posing as Chinese dragons welcomed the inaugural service alongside members of the Chinese embassy and trade representatives. 

A number of different locomotives and wagons were used as the former Soviet Union states have a larger rail gauge than the other countries involved.

China Railway already has freight services to a number of European destinations, including Hamburg and Madrid.

They are part of China's One Belt, One Road programme of reviving the ancient Silk Road trading routes to the West, initially created more than 2,000 years ago. 

Run by Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment, the Yiwu-London freight service makes London the 15th European city to have a direct rail link with China after the 2013 unveiling of the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative by Chinese premier Xi Jinping.

A Chinese dragon dancer performs to celebrate the arrival of the first direct freight train from China to the UK
A Chinese dragon dancer performs to celebrate the arrival of the first direct freight train from China to the UK

A Chinese dragon dancer performs to celebrate the arrival of the first direct freight train from China to the UK

Run by Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment, the Yiwu-London freight service makes London the 15th European city to have a direct rail link with China after the 2013 unveiling of the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative by Chinese premier Xi Jinping

Run by Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment, the Yiwu-London freight service makes London the 15th European city to have a direct rail link with China after the 2013 unveiling of the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative by Chinese premier Xi Jinping

Laden with 68 twenty-foot equivalent containers, the train brought in a cargo of small commodities including household items, clothes, fabrics, bags, and suitcases

Laden with 68 twenty-foot equivalent containers, the train brought in a cargo of small commodities including household items, clothes, fabrics, bags, and suitcases

The service is faster than sending goods by sea. Weekly trains will initially be run to assess demand. 

Prime Minister Theresa May has said the relationship with China remains 'golden' as she seeks to bring in billions of dollars in Chinese investment as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. 

Mike White, group operations director of Brunel Project Cargo, which is involved in the London service, told Railway Gazette: 'The new service has a very quick transit time.'

He added: 'We believe this is going to change the way a lot of forwarders and shippers view their imports and exports for China.' 

Prime Minister Theresa May has said the relationship with China remains 'golden' as she seeks to bring in billions of dollars in Chinese investment as Britain prepares to leave the European Union

Prime Minister Theresa May has said the relationship with China remains 'golden' as she seeks to bring in billions of dollars in Chinese investment as Britain prepares to leave the European Union

A woman holds Chinese and Union flag as she takes a photo of a freight train laden with goods from China

A woman holds Chinese and Union flag as she takes a photo of a freight train laden with goods from China

A sign noting the route of first direct rail freight train from China is seen as it arrives at Barking Rail Freight Terminal east of London

A sign noting the route of first direct rail freight train from China is seen as it arrives at Barking Rail Freight Terminal east of London

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