A freight train loaded with commodities, jars of ketchup and Christmas trees left the West Railway Station in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Wednesday morning, heading for Alma-Ata, the largest city in Kazakhstan.

This marks the 100th train journey since the freight service started in late May, said Niu Quan, spokesman for the Urumqi Railway Bureau.

Urumqi has been designated as a hub on China-Europe train routes by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The freight service from Urumqi to Alma-Ata operated for once a week since opening in May, but since November the train travels from Urumqi daily, Niu said.

International freight trains from Xinjiang mainly bound for Central Asian countries and some European countries developed rapidly in 2016. Since Xinjiang opened its first westward international train in 2014, a total of 328 such trains have been launched.