In a significant development on December 31, the Lanzhou Dongchuan Railway Logistics Center officially launched its freight line and dedicated container line. This milestone not only connects the Lanzhou International Port Area with domestic and international trade markets but also creates new opportunities to enhance regional logistics efficiency.
The newly constructed logistics center encompasses both the Dongchuan Railway Freight Center and the Lanzhou Railway Comprehensive Freight Yard. Located in Xincheng Town, Xigu District of Lanzhou City, the complex sits between the Hekou South and Poxia railway stations, covering a total area of 3,000 acres (about 1,214 hectares) with an investment of approximately 4.385 billion yuan ($615 million).
Strategic Layout and Development Focus
The logistics center adopts a "two zones, five parks" structural layout. The "two zones" divide the complex north and south of the departure yard: the southern area focuses on value-added logistics services, while the northern section serves as the core functional zone for freight operations.
The "five parks" represent specialized industrial zones: an automobile industrial park, a heavy steel products park, a container park, an express parcel service park, and an e-commerce industrial park. The development will particularly emphasize the container and e-commerce parks , concentrating on production-oriented trade distribution.
Projections indicate steady growth in freight volume, with estimates reaching 7.08 million tons by 2020, 10.43 million tons by 2025, and 15.42 million tons by 2030.
National Logistics Significance
Strategically positioned at the intersection of the Continental Bridge and Lanzhou-Chongqing double-stack container transport corridors, the center serves as a crucial hub for container transportation between northwest China and southwestern, eastern, northern, and southern regions.
Notably, the Dongchuan facility joins an elite group of just 18 sites nationwide capable of full-train container organization, loading, and unloading operations. It will play a pivotal role in consolidating and transferring container shipments for Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Tibet, functioning as both a land port and customs gateway.
Located in what's considered the Silk Road Economic Belt's "golden cluster zone," the Lanzhou Dongchuan Railway Logistics Center is poised to become a national logistics aggregation point. Its development will facilitate cargo transport along the Silk Road Economic Belt to Central Asia and Europe, accelerating the Lanzhou International Port Area's transformation into China's key import-export logistics hub under the Belt and Road Initiative.
