Xi'an

The Silk Route train connecting Turkey to China passed through Ankara on Dec. 7.

This new connectivity project called Iron Silk Road or Central Corridor is delivering its first export cargo through railway from Turkey to China, which is a short, safe, economical, and climate-friendly corridor between the Asian and European continents.

The Turkish railways have posted record figures in freight and passenger transportation for 2019, the country's transport minister said.

The total passenger numbers through Turkey's railways reached 149.8 million, said Cahit Turhan on Feb. 25.

The number of passengers travelled through high-speed trains grew 2 percent year-on-year to 8.3 million in 2019, he said.

Turkish Airlines began operating flights to China in 1999, with Beijing as the carrier's first destination. Now the airline also adds Xi'an to its flight network, making the city the fourth destination in mainland China after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

National flag carrier Turkish Airlines will launch service to Xi'an, northwestern China at the end of the year to mark its 20th anniversary of operations in China.

The first Chinese freight train traveling the China Railway Express line from Xi'an, China to Europe crossed under Istanbul's Bosporus Strait on Nov. 7 morning after setting off from Ankara a day earlier.

Deputy PM and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic is visiting China from Friday until Monday, the government has announced.

Ljajic will open the Silk Road International Exposition in Xi'an, in China's Shaanxi province, where Serbia is a special guest and a partner country.