On September 9, 2025, an international delegation of journalists visited the border city of Horgos in the Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of Ili in Xinjiang to get an on-site impression of the operations of border crossing. 

The local border gate of the sixth generation – with separate systems for passenger and freight traffic – was commissioned in September 2018. According to the border crossing station, a total of 1.37 million incoming and outgoing passengers were processed in 2024. 

The local railway border crossing began passenger and freight operations in June 2017. Currently, an average of 27 freight trains cross the border daily between China and Europe, as well as Central Asia. The total number of trains serving 18 countries overseas is over 49,000. 

Vehicles of different kinds ready for export – forklifts, coaches, dump trucks, and electric cars – are lined up neatly in the central control area of the Horgos road border crossing. Through drivers, transporters, or the China-Europe freight trains, they find their way to the countries of Central Asia and Europe. According to local customs, approximately 421,000 vehicles were exported through the port in 2024. 

Tourists from Poland await entry at the customs of the Horgos Port on September 9, 2025. Yu Jie