China's drive to strengthen trade links with western Europe got a boost as the first freight train that links China directly to the UK arrived in the eastern city of Yiwu from the UK after covering over 12,000 km. This is the second largest rail route in the world.

In 2013, China had  launched the "One Belt, One Road" strategy and has since spent millions into constructing vast infrastructure links.

The train departed from London on April 10 and passed through France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan during its 20-day trip before arriving in Yiwu in eastern Zhejiang province. The train which was loaded with whisky, baby milk, pharmaceuticals and machinery smoothly reached its destination which is a major wholesale centre for small consumer goods.

The new route has surpassed Russia's famous Trans-Siberian railway in terms of length, but it is about 1000 kilometres shorter than the record-holding China-Madrid link, which opened in 2014.

London is the 15th city to be linked to a new freight network offered by the state-run China Railway Corporation, which claims that its services are cheaper than air transport and quicker than shipping.