JINAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A new freight train left Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, for Uzbekistan Friday morning.

The train carried 53 containers of goods valued at 23 million yuan (3.6 million U.S. dollars), including textile machinery produced in Shandong. It will travel about 7,300 kilometers for 13 days to arrive at its destination in Uzbekistan.

This is the first China-Asia freight train service launched in the city, which will bring new opportunities for Jinan's development, said the local railway bureau.

The province has eight international freight train routes. A total of 70 China-Europe and China-Asia freight trains departed from the province in the first three months of this year.