A freight train connecting Yiwu, Zhejiang province and Prague, the Czech Republic is parked at the Yiwu West Railway Station. [Photo/chinanews.com.cn]

A train carrying 94 containers of toys left East China's Yiwu on July 20 for Prague, the Czech Republic.

The train will travel about 15 days before arriving in Prague, which is 11,411 kilometers away. It is the first China-Europe freight train to be launched exclusively to carry toys.

China-Europe freight trains departing from Yiwu connect five cities in eastern China to 36 countries in Europe, including Spain, Denmark, Switzerland and France.

Cargo train services have become an important logistics channel to ensure smooth trade as seaborne cargo transport has been disrupted by the pandemic, according to the country's railway operator China State Railway Group.

Freight trains leaving Yiwu recorded a surge in the number of trips and shipment volume from a year earlier, and around 1,000 trips are projected for the whole year.

As of July 20, 314 China-Europe freight trains have departed from Yiwu and delivered 29,408 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), up 183.59 percent year on year.