A China-Europe Chang'an freight train (Xi'an-Tashkent) loaded with 50 containers of 20-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) modules departed from Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province on Aug 3, heading for Uzbekistan.

A China-Europe Chang'an freight train shipping PV modules departs from Xi'an on Aug 3. [Photo/Visual Xi'an]

The PV modules are the first batch of products for a major 1-gigawatt PV project in Uzbekistan.

The project will use Xi'an-based solar power company LONGi Green Energy Technology Co's latest product – the Hi-MO7 – divided into 60 sets of about 3,000 containers, which will gradually be transported to Uzbekistan by the freight train.

It is China's largest PV project in Uzbekistan invested by China Energy Construction Corporation Limited, and is LONGi's largest PV module supply project in Central Asia.

Zhong Baoshen, chairman of LONGi, said the company will actively participate in the construction of new energy in Central Asia, using reliable and efficient products to assist the PV industry in taking root.

Zhong Baoshen, chairman of LONGi, shares his ideas at the launch ceremony for the freight train. [Photo/Visual Xi'an]

In recent years, the China-Europe Chang'an freight train has become an important link in the trade corridor between Asia and Europe.

From January to July this year, it made a total of 3,045 trips, an increase of 37.3 percent compared with the same period last year – transporting goods of 2.74 million metric tons, an increase of 47.7 percent year-on-year.