QINGDAO -- The multimodal transport center in Qingdao City of east China's Shandong Province has dispatched 449 China-Europe freight trains since the beginning of this year, shipping over 46,900 containers, a year-on-year increase of 29.2 percent, according to the local railway authorities.

Located in the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao, the center serves as a transportation platform covering railway, sea, air and land ports to connect more than 50 cities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members and countries along the Belt and Road routes.

Officials of the local railway authorities said they have optimized the customs procedures to improve transport efficiency.

The transportation hub of the SCO cooperation demonstration area has handled a total of 4,954 China-Europe freight train departures and arrivals since the area was officially established in 2018, with the daily throughput peaking at 2,000 standard containers.