SHENYANG -- A freight train service between China's northeastern port city of Yingkou and the Republic of Belarus was launched on Thursday, a new trade route between China and Europe.

It is the third cargo route between Yingkou and European cities following Moscow and Warsaw.

The train left the Yingkou Port in Liaoning Province at 9 am, carrying 50 containers of mechanical equipment worth $6 million.

During the 8,834-km journey, the train will pass through Russia before reaching its destination of Tsentrolit in Belarus, according to a statement from Chinese-Russian Railway Container International Freight Forwarding Co Ltd.

The train will run once a week. Each single trip takes 10 days.

Several Chinese cities, including Chongqing, Chengdu, Changsha, Hefei, Yiwu and Suzhou, have similar freight services to Europe.