First tourist train linking China's Xi'an, Kazakhstan's Almaty leaves China

The first China-Central Asia international tourist train left China via the rail port in Horgos, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Saturday noon.

Carrying 234 passengers, the maiden trip of the newly-launched service started from Xi'an City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Thursday, and is set to end in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Saturday.

At Horgos Railway Station, passengers completed customs and border inspections before transferring to a special train for the section outside China.

"I've never traveled out of China by train before, and this trip has been very hassle free. I just completed my paperwork for border exit at the station. It's very convenient," said Chinese traveler Guo Yingjie.

By strengthening coordination with local customs, border inspection and other departments, local railway bureau ensured smooth ticket exchange for passengers, and managed to shorten the time for entry and exit procedures to about 2.5 hours.

"International combined transport tickets are different from ordinary train tickets. They are three-piece tickets with information such as arrival and departure stations and seats marked in both Chinese and Russian. We have been in close contact with the railway authorities in Xi'an, and have handled the round-trip ticket procedures from Horgos to Almaty in advance for passengers," said Jin Yize, duty officer of the passenger train division of Horgos Railway Station.

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 is the China Tourism Year in Kazakhstan, and the second summit will be held in Kazakhstan.

First tourist train linking China's Xi'an, Kazakhstan's Almaty leaves China

China's movie industry is increasingly deriving its earnings from broader consumer economy.

Released during the 2025 summer season, the film "Nobody" became China's highest-grossing two-dimensional animated film -- and its success went beyond theaters.

Through licensing and brand partnerships, the movie has generated 2.5 billion yuan (about 358.3 million U.S. dollars) in retail sales to consumers, with more than 800 licensed products on the market.

Ranging from plush toys to food and home goods, the movie-related merchandise can be purchased from over 3,000 online and offline outlets.

Meanwhile, souvenir stores are crowded at Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia themed land, with hats, plush toys, and collectibles seeing steady demand from visitors.

"China's film industry is no longer defined by box office revenue alone. It has become a new growth engine that links and energizes multiple cultural sectors. At the heart of every successful film is strong storytelling. High-quality productions create cultural value, which in turn enhances the commercial value of intellectual property and opens up new consumption opportunities. I believe China's film industry delivered an outstanding performance in the past year," said Chen Xiaoda, vice dean of Shanghai Vancouver Film School.

Film IP fuels expansion of consumer market