A railway line linking China with Europe boosted foreign trade in the Chinese export powerhouse of Zhejiang Province in the first quarter, said the line's operator.

　　The Yiwu-Madrid freight route saw 11 trips in the first three months carrying 958 20-foot equivalent units of cargo, up 556 percent year-on-year.

　　The train service links Zhejiang's Yiwu, one of the world's largest wholesale markets for small consumer goods, with the European commodity center of Madrid by way of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

　　The service is operated by the Yiwu Tianmeng Industrial Investment Co Ltd.