China welcomes the first direct train from the UK

A train has pulled into a station in China.

It might not sound so remarkable – except this train made a 7,500 mile journey from the UK to get there.

The freight train chugged through Europe and across Asia to reach its destination.

Stuffed with British products, the train took 17 days to reach Yiwu in the east of China.

The route is based on the ancient Silk Road which enabled trade between the Turkish sphere of influence and the Far East.

Camel traders would take produce from Beijing through the deserts of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

Entire cultures were born and flourished during the height of the globalised trade.

Now Chinese marketeers are hoping to rebirth the ancient route.

Designed as a cheaper alternative to flying cargo or shipping it across the globe, the plan is for it to increase trade between China and the UK.

The Chinese are seen as a key trade partner for a new Brexit Britain.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World chief executive, said the first freight service from the UK to China is a ‘significant trade occasion’.

He added: ‘DP World London Gateway, one of the UK’s largest logistics hubs, is designed and developed to ensure products can be both imported and exported from the UK via ship or train in a faster, safer and more reliable way than ever before.

‘We look forward to enabling and facilitating more trade between the UK, China and the whole world.’

The President of China, Xi Jinping, has encouraged European nations to have direct train access with China.

London is now number 15 on the list of cities linked with the East under the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative.

‘This freight train is a reflection of the achievements of trade,’ Yiwu Timex, which operate the route, Chairman Timmy Feng said.