Advance orders
Zhanbang Craft Corp manufactures Christmas-related goods－such as plastic trees, cards and toy deer－at its factory in Yiwu and sells them both on-and offline.
Having been in operation for more than 10 years, the company accepts about 2,700 orders from May to September annually, with the largest amounting to 6 million yuan ($876,000).
"We are one of the largest producer-retailers of Christmas-related products in Yiwu International Trade City, and our clients are mostly from Europe and North America," said Huang Jinhe, Zhanbang Craft's owner.
"We often receive advance orders for Christmas the following year, before the current year's celebration has happened. We have already accepted 20 such orders this year."
According to Huang, though it's convenient to order online, foreign clients prefer to visit his outlets to check products or put forward customized patterns depending on tastes in different countries.
"Balls for Christmas trees are always popular, but clients prefer different colors. For example, clients from countries where it snows favor white balls while those from snow-free areas prefer golden ones," he said.
According to the Yiwu government, the value of the city's combined imports and exports to countries participating in the BRI reached 62.7 billion yuan in the first half of the year, accounting for 50 percent of the total.
To reduce the travel time, the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe rail line, which connects Yiwu and Madrid, came into operation in 2014. According to Yiwu Customs, the line carried 11,250 TEUs in the first half, a rise of 115 percent from the same period last year.
"Our clients' design requests are becoming increasingly diverse, so we have a special team to develop new designs and patterns every year," Huang said. "Orders are rising and clients are satisfied. That will benefit foreign people's lives to a large extent, I think."
In addition to goods from Yiwu, MV Cosco Netherlands' cargo included air conditioners made by Hisense and Ikea furnishings, which were loaded at Qingdao and Shanghai respectively.
When the vessel arrived at Piraeus Port in Greece, the air conditioners were unloaded and sent to the Czech Republic via the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Route, a rail line built by China and several Central European countries in 2014.
Faster operations
The line, which is cheap, fast and environmentally friendly, is a major BRI project. It began operating last year, starting at Piraeus and running to several countries, including Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Serbia.
The journey shaves seven to 10 days off the traditional shipping route, where goods were transported via the Mediterranean and then transferred to rail networks at ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Hamburg in Germany.
Jiang Shan, a member of Hisense's public relations team, said the company ships a range of goods－including television components, washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators－from China to European countries such as the Czech Republic, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany.
"It takes 34 days to transport TV components from Qingdao to factories in the Czech Republic by sea and the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Route," she said. "Before, it took 42 days to ship them directly to Hamburg, after which they were sent to the Czech Republic by rail."
According to Cosco Shipping Lines (Greece), a subsidiary that operates the express route, more than 700 clients have used the service so far, and 535 trips were made in the first half, double the number in the same period last year.
After a one-day stopover at Valencia, MV Cosco Netherlands retraced its route to Shanghai.
Every time the vessel and its crew brave the winds and waves, people across the Eurasian landmass benefit from the trade it promotes.
"I get a huge sense of achievement every time I safely deliver the ship's cargo," said Gu Longhua, the captain.
"The Chinese characteristics of business credibility and hard work will spread further along the new route to the rest of the world, and I truly believe that China and other countries will cooperate and share the benefits of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road."
