The first Yixin'ou international container train between Yiwu and Madrid leaves a container terminal in Yiwu city, East China's Zhejiang province, Nov 18, 2014. [Photo/CFP]

One more superlative has been added to China's history as well as the 21st Century Silk Road -- a 13,052 km cargo rail journey that snakes across eight countries in Asia and Europe and lasts a total of 21 days making it the longest continuous train ride in the world.

The freight line is dubbed "Yixin'ou," which means Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe. It runs from East China's Yiwu, the world's biggest market for small commodities, through the Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to Europe.

Spanish capital Madrid, Europe's largest market for small commodities, is its final destination.

Strategically located along the Mediterranean Sea with ports and enclaves key to trade between Europe, Asia and Africa, Spain used to be an important part of the ancient Silk Road.