Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, has seen a significant rise in China-Europe freight trains so far this year, according to the local railway authorities.

Since Jan. 1, the port has handled a total of 503 China-Europe freight trains, up 27.9 percent from the same period last year.

The 500th China-Europe freight train this year passed through the port at 1 p.m. Monday, a milestone that took 18 fewer days to accomplish than last year.

The number of inbound trains totaled 232, up 33.3 percent, while the number outbound trains reached 271, a rise of 23.6 percent.

The port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region now serves 54 China-Europe freight-train routes, connecting over 60 overseas destinations across more than 10 countries.