(Yicai) July 10 -- A new freight logistics corridor connecting Yunnan province in southern China to countries bordering the Indian Ocean has officially opened.

The first train of the 'Zheng He' Sea-Road-Rail International Multimodal Transport Service started its maiden voyage from Kunming, the provincial capital city of Yunnan, on July 4. The goods will arrive in Vientiane, Laos, via the China-Laos Railway.

Once in Laos, the goods can be transported to Thailand's Laem Chabang Port and then to Singapore by sea, or they can reach Thailand's Ranong Port and then head to Myanmar's Yangon Port and Bangladesh's Chittagong Port by sea.

Compared with the traditional maritime route through China's Beibu Gulf ports and the Strait of Malacca, the new logistics corridor shortens the transportation distance by nearly one-third, reduces transportation time by half, and improves transportation efficiency by more than 50 percent.

The new logistics corridor provides a new option for Chinese goods to reach the Indian Ocean and helps China strengthen economic cooperation with countries along the corridor, such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Thailand, Liu Jinxin, director of the Kunming Institute of International Logistics for South and Southeast Asia, told Yicai.

The maiden voyage of 'Zheng He' has opened a corridor for Yunnan, an inland province, to reach the Indian Ocean, said Wang Guowen, director of the Institute of Logistics and Supply Chain at the China Shenzhen Comprehensive Development Research Institute. It not only saves transportation distance, but it is also a safe and efficient transportation route, he added.

This new logistics corridor makes good use of Thailand's Ranong Port as a junction, opening a new window for goods from Yunnan to enter the Indian Ocean rim, Wang noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione