CHONGQING/CHENGDU – More than a millennium after camel caravans trudged across the Silk Road, a modern “steel camel train” is rewriting the rules of Eurasian trade from inland China. The Chengdu-Chongqing China-Europe Railway Express is set to operate over 5,000 trips in 2025, retaining its position as the nation’s busiest freight rail route for a fifth consecutive year, officials said.

Launched under a unified brand in 2021, the service has evolved from a basic logistics corridor into a core economic engine, much like the ancient trade routes that once catalyzed commerce between civilizations. Over five years, it has completed over 26,000 journeys across 50-plus routes, connecting 130 cities from Chongqing to Duisburg—networking continents with the reliability once reserved for caravans.

The coordinated operation between Sichuan and Chongqing represents a rare administrative feat, establishing a stable government and operational mechanism. Where silks and spices once moved slowly by hoof, containerized “Made-in-Chongqing” vehicles and electronics now flow steadily by rail, enabling the region’s shift from simple “corridor economy” to a integrated, high-value industrial cluster—proving that in the modern era, steel and schedules have replaced hides and stamina, but the mission of linking East and West endures.Editor/Cao Tianyi