Inland hub

In the past, mountainous Chongqing relied on the Yangtze River to connect with the outside world.

"It was really slow," said Wang Chenghua, deputy general manager of the international business department of Changan Minsheng APLL Logistics.

"We often had to refuse orders which had to be delivered in a short amount of time. But now, we can do business with almost everyone at home and abroad."

The Liangjiang New Area, boasting a large river port, airport and railway network, has helped Chongqing become an international trade and logistics hub connecting China, Europe and Southeast Asia.

It is also the starting point of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which was developed under the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity signed in 2016.

Han Baochang, director of the demonstration initiative's administration committee, said the trade corridor links 160 ports in 71 countries and regions worldwide.

In the south, the trade corridor runs from western China to Qinzhou port in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which connects to Southeast Asia.

In the north, it links the China-Europe freight trains, launched from many western Chinese cities, before they head to Central Asia and Europe.

Compared with the traditional route via the Yangtze River and Shanghai, the new route is a faster way to connect China's inland western region with major ports in the south, saving about 20 days in transport time.

Opened in 2011, the rail link between Chongqing and Duisburg, Germany, has also become another integral transport link and vital artery of the Belt and Road Initiative. Goods can be transported along the 11,179-kilometer route in about 13 days.

"Chongqing has found a feasible way to open up to international markets and it can provide a set of solutions for other inland regions," said Du Shulin, a senior official from the Liangjiang New Area.