Debut of Kouvola Bear from Finland to Xi'an by China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an International Freight Train

On June 3, 2021, the unveiling ceremony of a wooden bear craft from a Finnish city Kouvola, was held on Xi'an Metro Line 4 Beikezhan Station (Beiguangchang).

Su Hailan, Finnish ambassador to China, Xu Mingfei, deputy mayor of Xi'an City, Ren Qiangsheng, head of Foreign Affairs Office of Xi'an City, Qu Jinwei, secretary of the party committee and chairman of ITL Group all together attended the unveiling ceremony and witness this historical moment.

The bear craft, which was made following the image of the Finnish national treasure, took China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an international freight train to the ancient city Xi'an. It would be displayed in the Beikezhan Station. Designed and made by Finnish artist Esa Hyytiäinen, the bear craft is finished under the concept to demonstrate an open-minded and adorable bear who stands on the hill and stretches out its arm to show its expectations for the future. The adorable bear travels a long distance from Finland to Xi'an, carrying the good wishes from Kouvola and the expectation to achieve long-term friendship. It also demonstrates the hope for friendly communication and cooperation between the two cities and our two countries.

Located in the southeast of Finland, Kouvola is 134km away from the capital city Helsinki and about 60km away from the west border of Russia. It is an important hub city on the railway system in the southeast of Finland.

The biggest central railway switchyard of Finland is in Kouvola, shunting millions of tons of goods per year. The well-known Trans-Siberian Railway which runs from the far east and through Russia ends in Kouvola. Many significant industrialized countries in the far east, such as China, Russia and the north part of the EU are connected by it to make sure goods can be transported to countries in the EU in a short time. Moreover, it is not only a vital gateway for China to enter the Nordic countries, Russia and other European countries for trading but also a railway goods distribution center between the EU, Russia, China, Korea and other countries. It plays an essential role as one of the "bridgeheads" and the central city for Northern Europe logistics.

As of November 2017, the normal operation of China Railway Express (Kouvola-Xi'an) has achieved an operation of a two-way train a week, with 12-day transportation timeliness. With the shuttling China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an international freight train, pulp and woods from Finland can enter China through Xi'an Port and electronic products, machinery and equipment from China can enter the market of the Nordic countries as well.

In 2021, the route has been further improved to add a drop-off point as a normal operation station in Helsinki. In this way, the economic and trade exchanges and the cultural exchanges between China and Finland are boosted.

In the future, Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd. will constantly improve the high-quality development of China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an international freight train to maintain a stable and safe operation of the global industrial chain and supply chain to strengthen the attraction of the "Bring-in" strategy and the competitiveness of the "Go Global" strategy of CRE Chang'an international freight train under the dual circulation development model. We will also spare no efforts to contribute to building an international trade corridor with high efficiency, low cost and brilliant services!