A direct rail freight service from the United Kingdom to China will depart on an estimated 7,500-mile journey from Essex today.
The first of its kind, the train will carry British goods such as whisky, soft drinks, vitamins and pharmaceuticals, according to a BBC report.
Named A DB Cargo, the locomotive will leave the DP World London Gateway rail terminal for the city of Yiwu in Eastern China. Travelling through the Channel Tunnel, the train will pass through seven other countries (France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan).
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The train is expected to reach the city of Yiwu in Eastern China on 27th April. One of the main reasons behind initiating this service was the fact that goods by train are a lot cheaper to send when compared to air and sea.
This train will be a part of China's One Belt, One Road programme aimed at reviving the Silk Road trading routes with Western countries, dating back to approximately 2,000 years.
A similar train in the opposite direction, from China to the UK, arrived about three months ago. It carried British goods such as whisky, clothes and other high-street goods.
This mutual to-and-fro of the train service makes London the 15th European city to find its way on to the ever-expanding map of destinations for China's rail cargo.