A freight train loaded with 42 containers of raw materials of liquorice, a Chinese medicinal herb, which departed from Turkmenistan, arrived at the Xi’an international port in Shaanxi Province on Wednesday, August 31. This is the first freight train to import licorice and Chinese medicinal materials from Turkmenistan, and it is also the first return train from Turkmenistan to Xi’an.

Turkmenabad is the central city in eastern Turkmenistan, located on the banks of the Amu Darya River, with an average altitude of 187 meters. It has a temperate continental climate with hot summers, cool winters and less rainfall. The banks of the Amu Darya are the natural growth areas of wild licorice. The wild traditional Chinese medicine raw material imported from Turkmenabad this time – licorice, is a good raw material of traditional Chinese medicine.

It is reported that the special train was jointly organized by Turkmenistan BIR KUVVAT (Bilkuvat) Company and Shaanxi Investment Group International Logistics Co., Ltd., and departed from Turkmenbashi Port by ship to Aktau Port of Kazakhstan. The containers were shifted to rail. The freight train finnally arrived at Xi’an International Port Station via the border port of Horgos. The whole journey of 7562 kilometers lasted 22 days, and the cargo weighed 850 tons.