Cargo train services have begun between Weihai, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province, and Hamburg, Germany.

A train carrying 34 containers departed from Wendeng Railway Station in Weihai at 10 a.m. Saturday, marking inauguration of the service.

The weekly service will pass through Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland, covering 11,000 km to arrive in Hamburg.

The journey will take 15 to 18 days, compared to nearly one month by ship, and the cost is only 20 percent of that of air transport, according to an local official.

Zhang Zhicheng, with Weihai Customs, said the cargo train service will help form a sea-rail transport channel connecting the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, China, Central Asia and Europe.

Located on Jiaodong Peninsula, Weihai is close to ROK and Japan. Its major exports are medicine, clothing, tires, electrical products and auto parts.