A special China-Europe freight train, carrying goods from Midea Group, a home appliance maker in South China's Guangdong province, sets out from the province's Dongguan to Moscow, on Jan 20, 2021. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A special China-Europe freight train carrying goods from a Guangdong-based company set out from Dongguan in South China's Guangdong province to Moscow on Wednesday.

The train, loaded with 50 containers of goods made by Midea Group, a leading home appliance maker based in Shunde district, Foshan city, Guangdong, will arrive in Vorsino, Moscow within 15 days, cutting the travel time by two-thirds compared with the sea route.

It was the first export train for a local home appliance company since Guangdong opened China-Europe freight service in 2015.

The special train service will help better export goods made in Guangdong to the European market amid the global coronavirus pandemic, according to Sinotrans Ltd, the operator of the China-Europe freight service in Dongguan.

The number of Sinotrans-operated China-Europe freight trains travelling from South China reached 686, with 61,324 standard containers worth about $3 billion in 2020, according to the company.