A staff member talks with his colleague via a walkie-talkie in Manzhouli, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Dec. 30, 2020. The number of China-Europe freight trains arriving and departing via Manzhouli, China's largest land port, reached a record high in 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19, local railway authorities said Wednesday. (Photo by Guo Nailun/Xinhua)

HOHHOT, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The number of China-Europe freight trains arriving and departing via Manzhouli, China's largest land port, reached a record high in 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19, local railway authorities said Wednesday.

In 2020, a total of 3,548 cross-border freight trains went through the port, up 35.1 percent year on year, carrying 324,310 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers of goods.

Of the total, the port handled 1,758 inbound trains, an increase of 59 percent year on year, while the number of outbound trains rose by 17.7 percent year on year to 1,790.

The goods imported and exported through Manzhouli mainly include daily necessities, electrical products, industrial machinery, metals, agricultural products and auto parts.

Compared with sea and air transportation, China-Europe freight trains have been less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, playing an important role in ensuring smooth logistics and stable material supply in China and European countries.