URUMQI, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Horgos Port, a major railway hub in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, handled a record high of 8,730 China-Europe freight train trips in 2024, up 12.5 percent year on year, according to local customs officials.

A total of 12.1 million tonnes of goods were handled by this port last year, an increase of 10.9 percent over the previous year and another record, local customs revealed.

The port in 2024 maintained an average of over 22 daily China-Europe freight train trips, facilitating the transportation of an increasing number of "Made in China" products such as daily necessities, mechanical and electrical equipment, and electronic products to Central Asian and European markets.

"With streamlined procedures, the clearance time for a freight train at the port has been reduced from 12 hours to 6-8 hours," said Zhao Yuanfeng with Horgos Customs.

So far more than 40,000 freight trains operating on 85 routes have reached their destinations in Central Asia and Europe via Horgos Port, which has become an important logistics channel connecting China and Eurasia. ■