FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shot of Hepan Kindergarten
2. Children playing
3. Drawings
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) preschoolers talking (names not given)(starting with shot 3/ending with shots 5-7):
Girl: "It means the train starts in Yiwu, passes through the Alashankou land port in northwest China's Xinjiang region, and finally arrives in Madrid, capital of Spain."
Boy: "We transport Chinese products to the world and bring goods from Europe back to China."
5. Various of drawings featuring China-Europe railway services

FILE: Alashankou City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Aerial shots of Alashankou railway station, container trains

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of drawings, handcrafts, maps featuring China-Europe railway express; children drawing
8. Aerial shot of China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone
9. Various of traders at Yiwu market
10. Fast motions of Yiwu port
11. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Feng Xubin, chairman, YXE Trading Service Group (starting with shots 9-10):
"After 10 years of hard work, we've built a logistics corridor from the 'world's small commodities capital', to Eurasia. People across Europe are benefiting from the YXE's logistics services. All the attention we get from the president is a big encouragement for us to keep forging ahead."
12. Various of YXE exhibition hall, containers

FILE: Beijing, China - Sept 26, 2014 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Great Hall of the People
14. Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands with then Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
15. National flags of China, Spain
16. Rajoy speaking
17. Xi speaking

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
18. Yiwu-Madrid sign

FILE: Madrid, Spain - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
19. Various of statue on Main Square, pedestrians, traffic before Alcala Gate

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
20. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Feng Xubin, chairman, YXE Trading Service Group (starting with shot 19/ending with shot 21):
"After President Xi Jinping's meeting with Rajoy, we expedited the plan for building the corridor and initiated the countdown to its entry into operation."
21. Model of YXE container; photo of first YXE freight train

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Nov 18, 2014 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
22. First YXE freight train departing

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
23. Aerial shot of land port facilities, containers
24. Freight train moving
25. Various of drivers driving train
26. Animation showing map of Yiwu-Madrid railway route
27. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Huang Wei, driver, Inaugural YXE China-Europe Railway Express :
"I was the driver on the first leg of the inaugural YXE, departing from the Yiwu West Railway Station. At the time, I asked many people why European goods couldn't also be transported to China on the YXE, since the route was now open. Initially, only a few trains would carry goods back to China."
28. Various of Huang checking, driving train
29. Aerial shots of Yiwu market
30. Spanish wine exporter Jesus Garcia taking taxi
31. Fast motion of traffic, Yiwu market
32. Various of YXE containers, sign
33. Various of Garcia opening, tasting wine
34. SOUNDBITE (English) Jesus Garcia, Spanish wine exporter (overlaid with shots 32-33):
"In 2014, I came to Yiwu, it was that year that the first train to run from Yiwu to Europe via Xinjiang began operating. A caravan train route had been established connecting Yiwu to Madrid. My forefathers were all involved in the wine business, so I am determined to bring Spanish wine to China."
35. Yiwu market
36. Various of Garcia opening, sorting wine

FILE: Madrid, Spain - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
37. Spanish flag atop building
38. Various of cityscape, people

FILE: Madrid, Spain - Nov 27, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
39. Plane flying
40. Air China plane taxiing
41. Xi, his wife Peng Liyuan waving, walking down plane
42. Xi's article on Spanish newspaper

FILE: Madrid, Spain - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
43. Aerial shots of cityscape
44. Various of people dining, drinking wine, buying Spanish desserts, ham
45. Flags of China, EU, Spain
46. People on Main Square
47. Various of people walking, dining, dancing, painting on street
48. Various of Iberico ham ambassador Florencio Sanchidrian cutting ham
49. Various of people drinking beer
50. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Florencio Sanchidrian, Iberico ham ambassador (starting with shot 49/ending with shot 51):
"The Chinese president's visit brought very positive outcomes. In particular, it significantly advanced economic and trade exchanges between the two sides. For instance, Spanish products such as meat, olive oil and wine are now increasingly being exported to the Chinese market."
51. Various of container train, staff members checking, monitoring train

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
52. Yiwu railway port
53. Huang Wei walking to office
54. Monitoring screens
55. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Huang Wei, driver, Inaugural YXE China-Europe Railway Express, talking to colleague (starting with shot 54/partially overlaid with shot 56):
Huang: "Dispatch, this is Huangwei at Yiwu West. Yes, I'm on day shift today. How many trains are you responsible for today?"
Colleague: "Three to Central Europe, and three to Central Asia."
Huang: "Three to Central Europe, and three to Central Asia?"
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
56. Huang's nameplate, party emblem on chest
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
57. Various of train moving, Huang driving
58. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Huang Wei, driver, Inaugural YXE China-Europe Railway Express (starting with shot 57):
"The number of return train journeys is increasing all the time. At first, we would handle only one or two journeys a week. But now, we're responsible for up to 10 a day."
59. Various of containers
60. Various of staff, cartons of goods at warehouse
61. Various of bottles of wine, ham
62. SOUNDBITE (English) Jesus Garcia, Spanish wine exporter (overlaid with shots 59-61):
"From starting at two or three containers a year, we now import and export a total of around 60-70 containers, full of goods, which is worth around three million U.S. dollars. I believe that we can continue to expand the scope of our business in the near future."
63. Various of products in container-shaped show windows
64. Various of chefs cutting, tasting ham
65. SOUNDBITE (English) Jesus Garcia, Spanish wine exporter (overlaid with shots 66-71):
"Now the train has become more significant in my eyes for it carries our products connecting the world. More importantly, it is a superb example of practicing Xi Jinping's remarks about connecting the heart of peoples and uniting the world together."
66. Various of containers
67. Freight train moving
68. Fast motion of traffic
69. Yiwu market
70. Various of traders
71. Time-lapse footage of Yiwu market

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - March 9, 2023 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
72. Various of launch of Yiwu-Madrid commemorative freight train

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
73. Various of workers working on production line
74. Aerial shots of contain train, vehicles

FILE: Madrid, Spain - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
75. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Carlos Santana, Academic Director, IE Business School, Spain:
"Among the goods shipped from China to Spain, the proportion of high-quality, high-tech products is increasing. As time passes, we'll see a brighter future for Chinese goods."
76. Various of cityscape

FILE: Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
77. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Feng Xubin, chairman, YXE Trading Service Group (starting with shot 76/partially overlaid with shot 78): "Madrid is a transit point for goods from Yiwu, facilitating their transit across Europe and even to Africa. A decade ago, we only had connections with two or three countries. But now, thanks to the trade links brought by the operation of this freight train service, we've got trade relations with more than 150 cities in 60 countries and regions."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
78. Various of Yiwu port
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
79. Various of freight trains moving

FILE: Beijing, China - Nov 11, 2014 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
80. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xi Jinping, Chinese President (overlaid with shots 81-83):
"We are building comprehensive connectivity. Connectivity is about connecting physical structures. Our cooperation should extend to wherever roads, railways, air routes and the internet take us."

FILE: Beijing, China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
81. Tiananmen Square

FILE: Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
82. Fast motions of traffic, containers being handled, cargo ship sailing, construction workers working
83. Various of people shaking hands, hugging, cheering at construction site
84. Various of freight train moving
85. Animation of camels, freight train moving

Launched a decade ago, the YXE China-Europe Railway Express, stretching for over 13,000 kilometers from the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu known as the world's capital of small commodities to the Spanish capital of Madrid, now serves as a crucial bridge for trade between China and Spain.

While a relatively small quantity of Spanish goods was imported to China during the route's initial phase, ever since President Xi Jinping's visit to Spain in 2018, it's been a boom-time for Spanish products to make a name in the Chinese market. Meanwhile, thanks to the YXE, a range of products from China's intelligent manufacturing sector has gone global.

The YXE China-Europe Railway Express means the train starts in Yiwu of east China's Zhejiang Province, passes through Xinjiang at Alashankou, and finally arrives in Madrid. With a total length of 13,052 kilometers, this is the longest freight rail route in the world. It transports Chinese products to the world and then brings goods from Europe to China.

"After 10 years of hard work, we've built a logistics corridor from the 'world's small commodities capital', to Eurasia. People across Europe are benefiting from the YXE's logistics services. All the attention we get from the president is a big encouragement for us to keep forging ahead," said Feng Xubin, chairman of the YXE Trading Service Group.

On September 26, 2014, President Xi Jinping invited visiting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to sign up to a railway project linking Yiwu in eastern China with Madrid. By participating jointly in the construction and operation of the railway, the two countries have enhanced their economic and trade cooperation.

"After President Xi Jinping's meeting with Rajoy, we expedited the plan for building the corridor and initiated the countdown to its entry into operation," said Feng.

Just 53 days after the two leaders met, the inaugural YXE Express departed from Yiwu West Railway Station. This new direct rail service linking the two ends of the Eurasian continent - Yiwu in China and Madrid in Spain - crosses eight countries. With 60 Chinese and foreign drivers taking turns at the controls, it dramatically shortens the transport time to just 21 days, compared to the two months by sea.

"I was the driver on the first leg of the inaugural YXE, departing from Yiwu West Railway Station. At that time, I asked many people why European goods couldn't also be transported to China on the YXE, since the route became operational. Initially, only a few trains carried goods back to China," said Huang Wei, a driver of the inaugural YXE China-Europe Railway Express train.

It was November 2014 when Huang Wei drove the first YXE train, and 181 days later, he was the train's driver on its first trip from Spain.

Also in 2014, young Spaniard Jesus Garcia, after crossing the entire Eurasian continent, reached the unfamiliar city of Yiwu in eastern China.

"In 2014, I came to Yiwu, it was that year that the first train to run from Yiwu to Europe via Xinjiang began operation. A caravan train route had been established connecting Yiwu to Madrid. My forefathers were all involved in the wine business, so I am determined to bring Spanish wine to China," said Jesus Garcia, a Spanish wine exporter.

When he launched his business, Garcia imported only one or two containers through the YXE express each year. The turnaround came in 2018.

In November 2018, ahead of his state visit to Spain, a two-page article by Xi was published in Madrid's number one newspaper, ABC. In it, the Chinese president praised the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe Railway Express for offering more options for freight transport between the two countries. He described the rail link as an early fruit of cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The China-Europe Railway Express that connects Yiwu and Madrid, considered as an important early harvest of the Belt and Road Initiative, offers an additional alternative for the transport of cargo between both nations," the article reads.

Newspapers in China and Spain soon published reports about the Spanish products entering the Chinese market. One of the most widely talked-about was the famous Iberico ham.

During President Xi's visit to Spain, the two countries signed 18 bilateral cooperation agreements. Among other things, they permitted the export to China of Spanish produce including bone-in ham and fresh grapes.

"The Chinese president's visit brought very positive outcomes. In particular, it significantly advanced economic and trade exchanges between the two sides. For instance, Spanish products such as meat, olive oil and wine are now increasingly being exported to the Chinese market," said Florencio Sanchidrian, an Iberico ham promotion ambassador.

"The number of return train journeys is increasing all the time. At first, we would handle only one or two journeys a week. But now, we're responsible for up to 10 a day," said Huang Wei.

"From starting at two or three containers a year, we now import and export a total of around 60-70 containers, full of goods, which is worth around three million U.S. dollars. I believe that we can continue to expand the scope of our business in the near future," said Jesus Garcia.

Spanish produce such as ham, wine and olive oil brought in on the YXE are proving a big hit among Chinese consumers. After nine years, Jesus Garcia is now settled in Yiwu.

"Now the train has become more significant in my eyes for it carries our products connecting the world. More importantly, it is a superb example of practicing Xi Jinping's remarks about connecting the heart of peoples and uniting the world together," he said.

In 2022, bilateral trade between China and Spain surpassed 50 billion U.S. dollars for the first time. Thanks to the YXE, "intelligent manufacturing in China", covering products such as photovoltaic equipment and new energy vehicles, has gone global.

"Among the goods shipped from China to Spain, the proportion of high-quality, high-tech products is increasing. As time passes, we'll see a brighter future for Chinese goods," said Carlos Santana, academic director of the IE Business School, Spain.

"Madrid is a transit point for goods from Yiwu, facilitating their transit across Europe and even to Africa. A decade ago, we only had connections with two or three countries. But now, thanks to this freight train service, we've got trade relations with more than 150 cities in 60 countries and regions," said Feng.

The China-Europe Railway Express, which the YXE is part of, currently operates on 86 routes, departing from 112 Chinese cities and connecting more than 200 cities in 25 European countries. Railway stands as a powerful symbol of China's participation in global cooperation, and of the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

China-Europe Railway Express services have so far completed a total of 78,000 journeys. They have transported 7.4 million standard containers with cargo valued more than 340 billion U.S. dollars.

"We are building comprehensive connectivity. Connectivity is about connecting physical structures. Our cooperation should extend to wherever roads, railways, air routes and the internet take us," Xi said at the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing on November 11, 2014.


The "caravans of steel camels" are creating a new bridge for cooperation and exchange between Europe and Asia.