A tourist train departed from northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Thursday for Almaty, Kazakhstan, marking the debut of the China-Central Asia international tourist train and a new step in cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
Carrying 234 passengers, the train is set to arrive in Almaty on Saturday.
Along the way, it will pass through provinces and autonomous regions including Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang before exiting China via Horgos Port, a major railway hub in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
"This international tourist train adopts a segmented transport model consisting two sections. On the Xi'an-Horgos domestic section, the train uses 25T-type carriages operating at 140 kilometers per hour, and on the Horgos to Almaty section it will be switched to international intermodal trains with 25G-type carriages. We have worked closely with Kazakhstan's railway authorities to ensure passengers enjoy one-stop customs clearance services," said Hui Lixia, deputy director of the passenger transport department at China Railway Xi'an Bureau Group Co., Ltd.
The return journey is scheduled to depart on June 5 and arrive in Xi'an on June 7, with each one-way trip taking about 57 hours.
The special train service is one of the key outcomes of the first China-Central Asia Summit held in Xi'an in 2023. This year, which marks China Tourism Year in Kazakhstan, will see the second summit held in Kazakhstan.
First tourist train linking China's Xi'an, Kazakhstan's Almaty inaugurated
First tourist train linking China's Xi'an, Kazakhstan's Almaty inaugurated
