China Railway Express: From Silk Road to Silk Railroad

it said everyone has a story China has almost 1.4 billion of them from the mega cities to the vast countryside from the ancient to the ultra-modern it's our job to bring these stories to you direct from one of the most rapidly changing nations on the planet [Music] an international freight railway network is connecting China to cities across Europe it's been dubbed the new silk railroad 2,000 years ago commodities could take a year to get from China to Europe along the ancient trade road but today consumer goods can reach London by rail in just 14 days I'm Sam Willis a historian I've been exploring the ancient Silk trading routes by land and sea but there would have been hundreds of people if not thousands in canoes in big trading junk and I'm teaming up with CD TN journalist Li children China Railway Express sent out its first London yeah she has been reporting on the silk railroad since it began five years ago the country actually imported agricultural products worth more than a hundred and ten billion u.s. dollars in 2016 alone together we are visiting two key stocks on this railway network in China the wool in the east and chain do in the southwest now someone in Europe could just wish something and there it is in time to find out how this new connection mirrors the ancient Silk Road and how consumer demands are driving a new era of east-west trade eewan eastern China a trading hub for three decades it took goods from here bound for Europe two hours by Road just to reach the nearest seaport followed by a two-month journey across the oceans but today a new freight rail link connects evil to Europe along an ancient trading route and it's transforming trade in 2017 he will exported 37 billion US dollars worth of goods to unravel this city's story by meeting a journalist who has been working in China for the past seven years leech oh um it's home of the world's largest wholesale market of small consumer goods selling everything from textiles toys artificial flowers so there's a great demand for fast reliable and cost-effective way of transporting merchandise so the railway gives them another option well I've been reading about its history and heritage and I'm keen to start exploring nearly 300 kilometers from Shanghai stands II will railway station a massive freight terminus that began transporting cargo overland to Europe in 2014 it's part of the multi-billion dollar one belt one Road plan to boost international trade a train from Madrid is arriving with 48 carriages carrying a total cargo of 1.1 million kilograms of goods each container must be unloaded and cleared through customs team leader Wu Xia dong is coordinating and I want to know how these products cross international borders what's it all these containers that I'm telling and dr. Stronach Amazon China chooses from Maddie and odo quarantine are here can i oh Hongki oh hi oh here community here new younger to here it's handy do you know what I'd love to have a closer look no long term and you can hang on she Chi Chi Jessica Martin equality Shonda because this is about sister party the attacker has mascara you know this is a kind of technology I absolutely love you've got some boxes you've got some wheels and you've got some track but with a bit of imagination you can change the world the EU Madrid railway is the longest rail link in the entire world it extends for 13,000 kilometers through France Germany Poland Belarus Russia and Kazakhstan but not all countries on the route used the same rail technology and transfers are required I want to find out how they managed this feat don't go down our deli or hungry sense don't go you don't wanna take it with you although you're open up well see a little sliver q some water but I'll see this is sound gotta meet you finally I'm a little sister yo earth soup for example way to a job you girl girl are you putting the tongues or 13g she a little yes it'll be okay if I'm even brought on so one minute for one spot that's quite efficient it's amazing yeah such efficiency helps the rail link cut Europe China transportation time by half goods now take only three weeks to arrive compared to six weeks by sea this means people are getting their products faster they invited the allows our II will to visit all Danny Rodden weekend one don't know anything like we do a fresh batch of import has just arrived customs officer wang sen and his team have to clear the goods before they can be sent out then I don't like them hash on oh my dad's really cooling in the forties independent code in South Sudan I only share something the cinchy to the song to coaching for the to Gossage in base from Czech Republic what other types of goods do you keep here your lights are good by out-of-home job now how you see no agent you talk without any shares ago guy your GP doses you some people don't attract a job yeah there must be thousands of cans here can you get a sense of which goods are popular from those that arrive and then pass through very quickly ohm intervention codify those are teachers in PR channa I'm starting a heart was a teacher in El Corte 18 copito potential and I saw just a haunting cult idea home joy starting in Tadasana wounded Pacheco how to the initial charge and potential new cargo from Europe is arriving in evil every week supply a steady flow of seasonal imports it's just a few decades ago foreign products weren't as readily available there were few selections and they were pretty expensive but now cities like you are importing products regularly that can be afforded by locals all the way from Europe that's quite a change yeah and it's interesting if you compare it to how the Silk Road used to work so 2,000 years ago they did trade in perishables but those with a very long shelf life so herbs spices and tea but it was incredibly expensive and only a few people could actually afford it but this stuff is accessible to so many more thousands of people now that foreign products are more accessible and affordable local tastes are changing and there's no better time to sell these Goods than China's annual Spring Festival show UN and I are heading to a Lunar New Year Food Fair to find out how foreign foods are transforming a traditional Chinese holiday this is all from Bulgarian it's a Bulgarian hazelnut chocolate wafer it's amazing I hadn't bought this if I was Chinese food fairs are everywhere during the new year but this one in particular sells mostly European products by but a bag from round it's interesting to see so many European items on display I mean the Chinese clearly want to have European goods for their Lunar New Year parties china has a burgeoning middle class they have growing passion for foreign food that great buying power in 2016 alone the country has actually important agricultural products worth more than a hundred and ten billion u.s. dollars nearly billion that is extraordinary with Chinese disposable income increasing significantly over the past decade there's a growing desire for a better life and the place they are starting at food and drink tin hye-jin is one of Evo's biggest wine importers wonderful gang man Beshara million worth a television I said that children publishing of weekly Jack are in 2017 alone close to a billion bottles of wine were imported today China is the fourth largest importer of wine and is expected to surpass huge markets like Britain and France within the next two years I want to know how Chinese tastes are changing laughing hey hey I'm in a hunter alternative Russia convenience and hang up without your daughter what my concern isn't get her Sasha wanna just is this the type of wine that the Chinese particularly like trunk or the nanfan touching to the village to quench their children to repeat Okada are to the my children oh god a hammer young William shame that dirty away with peter hommerson I think the strength of the wine is a byproduct of the text I think they want a very powerful wine that kind of smacks them around the head with Spain rather than something subtle in life I mean that it is it's an extraordinarily powerful statement mm-hmm the emergence of European produce in the market is a reflection of the changing demands of China's growing middle class the rail link increases their accessibility Andy Wu is their gateway to the country now I want to understand more about this landlocked city and how it earned its status as a trading hub the story begins 300 years ago a mammoth new freight rail link between Europe and China has sparked a new era of trade for the eastern Chinese city of EU [Music] I've traveled to for tongue an ancient town ten kilometers from evil center with journalist leach oun to learn more about his trading heritage it's all to do with this river this is the chen tongue river system that goes all the way to Hangzhou 150 kilometers to the north that river system is also connected to the Beijing hangzhou grand canal system so good could get from here to Beijing I'm meeting local historian Chen Yin Xiu in' to learn what this place was like at the peak of its trading past what was photo like votante a PNG surely Angela Toledo's like a Pakistani Putin me much in relation to some petrol engine which he made Chitra what soilders hunt who ensue to the cross very playfully on the slope totally cool yet take a suntan create a tobacco shop for tongue was once a hive of activity so busy that it had nine ports local produce like brown sugar dates and ham was exported to the rest of China but one commodity gained the most attention salt can maneuver matter Joseon Putin he undergoes the woman for time to eat a big of food he entered a universal superb Egyptian mercredi without the delay let people know life vote on Jan fashion washing on VN wanna say cassis Rita sue dead father aa nuevamente nipperoso cheese Oh patria county FL g te to Eden second-gen gonna LG Hong sang-soo Jagodina darshan continued purple as water routes have been replaced this Riverside port has had to find itself a new competitive edge [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] you know that's what a lot of young people do here in China they choose to have a traditional style of wedding all the traditional Chinese dresses is getting trendy now for tongue has found a way to preserve its trading heritage making and selling traditional wedding items sahaja lemonade or shaman on John Doe Yahoo Uniqua new measurement raiding ohnkoji don't want honda the honda you hear somebody Chanchala the meridian gate jonsharland them this happiness couplet represents prosperity and is given to the groom's family during the betrothal ceremony you know the history of Chinese wedding goes way back and then people still practice certain rituals today why don't you give it a try it looks like a job for me dad I've had some with Georgia Goku yeah little funky shala right you pay attention you might learn something in Washington's autumn any glass sugar with enough water you could wish on it takes about an hour for her to Davis complete one she theatrical it's gonna take you a day a week it's lovely to see with such a big thing as the trade city you know just down the road that there's still a market for Moscow at least everything is just so fast-paced now and there's a wave of nostalgia slowly bubbling to the surface in this culture I'm not surprised I think with everything moving forward so quickly it's like they need to sort of anchor themselves in the past mm-hmm see ya in the past trade centres arose and specialized in a kind of organic way so if you think about Tinder's n the capital of chinese porcelain that was there because the right type of play was nearby and also the right type of forests pine forests which they used to fire the kilns but today it seems so much more of a choice you do see a certain pattern today for example Hangzhou is known for e-commerce and Guangzhou is going for manufacturing businesses I mean where we are is known for trading small consumer goods overcoming odds to earn its status as one of the richest cities in China he will exported an estimated thirty three billion u.s. dollars of small consumer goods in 2017 alone and there's one product the city exports that's universal supplying three billion pairs to the entire world every year sure UN and I have come to earu in eastern China in search of goods destined for Europe along its new rail network socks almost a third of the world's supply comes from the yang province Andy Wu is home to some of the largest sock manufacturers I want to find out how it supplies the world this the woman that you go to your fingers counting so the sound man encounters are told she won here Thank You LT BIOS the Dow holders were 30 feet on how heartily should go for Jojo fly higher I should seek a portal at theatres 13 it's unlike any sock I've ever seen hon Lee Lee runs one of Evil's largest sock production lines supplying two major fashion companies and supermarkets globally we can't daddy the watch back and forth with our watches wow great doesn't think it says about how we got that that's an utterly fantastical machine it's got pipes it's worrying if there's a sort of bellows breathing out the back and then all of a sudden a thought appears out of here it's like it's been invented by a mad scientist [Music] into my pouch turn institutio Yoshida woman diet change this year the Kyrgyzstan solution for issues like having a certain surface or nama shoyu thank they shall fade so up Lily needs to export at least 40 containers every month to meet demands traditional shipping lines were once the only mode of export but now Lily's factory is making a switch due to the increased speed of rail transport machine vanity we honor eating oh no Mahalo for family is a little bow you with hypertension shall see immediately thought chavalla door clays or partial fattening socks are just one of the many exports originating from this small inland city the majority of the world's low-cost consumables come from here II was international trade cities a sprawling complex the size of 800 football fields with some 62,000 shops and nearly half a million different products to choose from it is the world's largest wholesale market this trade City attract for them 200 thousand people a day you know have been various ways of explaining how big this place is one of them is brilliant someone estimated if you spend three minutes inside every shop it would take you a year and a half to walk around it this is where any imaginable knick-knack in the world can be found a place synonymous with the phrase made in China I want to find out how trading hill works what do you usually do when you're here I come here looking for products my customers they might send through a picture or an Emporium for the internet and can't find it or they sometimes come here and I company around the market so different categories they want to look at what are you looking for today today we're going to check on some felt pieces for a teaching resource company armed with 17 years of experience English trader Nigel crop going to show us how a deal is done so what are the biggest advantage of sourcing products here the biggest of all is you have so many different product categories here under one roof soccer one-stop-shop very convenient and then we try the gun show a better price if we can can you tell us how you do that sure we never go you got an angle after something man Guardia malamaroo yeah one good okay we choked up you idiot jung-hwan Komatsu changes okay me French animosity there mustn't Akira there was demos a machine armor so pushing the muscle pitching 3d image in the constant I'm John Kerry azhagiya saran to the people - bro hada labo fire ok yeah yeah ok hundreds of deals like this are struck every minute here the goods will be checked by suppliers and once they pass quality control they will be loaded into containers and transported across 13,000 kilometers overland to Europe beginning their great cross you Ranger journey taking 16 days with new rail routes being established trade across the Eurasian continent from China to Europe is representing a new era of connectivity yeah it's hard to believe that he we started off as a small hub for trading salt and it's transformed itself into this enormous on sale market for small goods but you will have certainly done a great job kicking up at the time so now seeing some of the products that cannot be afforded by Chinese middle class now coming through that rail line just gives you a snapshot of what you has made possible today I think that's really the story we see in the history of the Silk Road those cities that can adapt that can evolve those are the ones that survive and the ones I can't ma they're forgotten as the train pulls out of Evo's railway station show UN and I prepare to head west to Chengdu a mountainous trading post 2,000 years ago and the heart of the ancient Silk Road to discover how this city is now home to the busiest railway station in China [Music] don't you stop me Raja Johnny's Islam from toddler earth - okay talk about where your doober got word time I wanted a sooner [Music] was also our state's lugar de nada Susie Ontario hwacha needle Bhavana curuvija call insulin associationism [Music] Nashville area I will show our journey sunshiny from the spoon we talked over the hoop require in this is total who is he media manure zodanga doctrinal or value in Hashanah so China to login Erica tetsusaiga - Donna lineage ha ha ha ha days began euro Kanchana good yeah Lula and nude fungal tiny moon of food to an octopus Hara [Music] early Loulou answer to one with janavarta talk to you Luciano congressional district Laguna Honda motorcycle nunca no visual Jo Ann Machado told each Nina to go to network nests over the pass without the coaches Gilda [Music] and usually the new delivery by Sonia relative Ana whenever capitalism I think what would happen to the wizard slot in your father's or you have your Gladstone we were together official South Australia do we use not returned yet Iranian well new you Nagar value grenades of this is hard I also he had one through neutral natural middle to amadito gosh it's an artist a photographer and the reader from world of work of Walter Minesh yes honey when a tornado pasta salad [Music] and Senator sign yet the new earth the Savior we do know you guys we are gonna and lo God said it's all ashore and yeah I kinda wanna put it for the city to kind of become through words but when I would look up Lisa Rinna Baba each had undergone what is the order was morbid even Sir Anthony Mesa notable person who you is hallelujah a majority rajendra oh my god worth two dollars in a grocer created - stop pay bills [Music] you

Channel: CGTN

Views: 214,987

Rating: 4.7980199 out of 5

Keywords: CCTV, CGTN, CCTVNews, News, ChinaNews, SilkRoad, ChinaRailwayExpress, Yiwu, China, NationalGeographicChannel, RediscoveringChina, SilkRailRoad, ZhejiangProvince

Id: L6VJTvkENzM

Length: 26min 32sec (1592 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 02 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/vinodjetley]

A slightly different route.

https://youtu.be/G8B1PSimxU0