Ground-breaking ceremony of Ceke railway construction project, on May 26. [Photo/ Alxa League Daily]

A ceremony at the land port of Ceke, Inner Mongolia, on May 26, marked the beginning of construction work on China's first cross-border standard gauge railway line in the region, as a part of the country's "Belt and Road" initiative whose plan is to revitalize the old Silk Road and the maritime Silk Road linking East and West.

The Ceke railway project will provide a "seamless link" between China and Mongolia and is expected to increase the amount of trade between the two countries.

It will also connect with other important domestic railways to form an energy transmission web and will join the Beijing-Moscow and Siberia - Europe lines, ultimately reaching at the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as a "Eurasian Land Bridge".

By that time, the Ceke railway is expected to be carrying 30-million tons of freight annually, making it China's largest land port, and an example for others to follow.