Responding to rising trade volumes, Zhengzhou, a business and logistic center in Central China, has started rail service to Hamburg, Germany.

The train takes 18 days to make the 10,214-kilometer trip, but that's more than twice as fast as maritime transport. It can also effectively save 80 percent of the cost compared with air shipments, and it's about $489 cheaper on average compared with road transportation, which is a major incentive for the Eurasian Land Bridge, also dubbed New Silk Road.

The route reaches Germany via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland. Zhengzhou International Inland Port Development Co Ltd is responsible for cooperating with partner rail companies in each country.