At the customs supervision and operation yard of the Linyi Lanshan International Land Port Railway, several large trucks bearing the “Lu Q” license plates are ready to roll. Loaded with Chinese goods, they will depart the country via the Manzhouli port, traverse Siberia, and head for countries across Europe. Once an inland urban area “not bordering the coast, rivers, or borders,” Lanshan is now leveraging the “Lu Q” plate as its calling card to send goods from this historic revolutionary region along the Belt and Road’s broad avenues to ever more distant destinations.

With the “Lu Q” convoys setting out, steel-laden fleets embark on long journeys. In Lanshan there is a cross-border transport fleet of more than a hundred large trucks displaying the eye-catching “Lu Q” plates. Shuttling between China and Europe, Central Asia and other regions, they have become a “mobile bridge” linking domestic and international trade.

“This is my tenth international run. From initial anxiety to now being completely familiar with the route, the fact that ‘Lu Q’ can reach across Europe relies on supportive policies,” said 45-year-old driver Niu Zhifei, who has nearly 20 years of driving experience. He explained that cross-border transport used to require multiple load transfers, consuming time and driving up costs, but the wider adoption of the TIR system has changed everything. As a global customs transit facilitation system for international road transport, the TIR regime enables “one declaration, one document straight through, one vehicle to the destination.” With a single document, “Lu Q” trucks can travel through more than 70 countries that implement the TIR Convention without reloading or unloading, greatly improving transport efficiency.

Policy support has helped “Lu Q” travel farther and more reliably. Lanshan District has proactively integrated itself into the Belt and Road Initiative, implemented international logistics enhancement projects, and promoted coordinated development across road, rail, sea and air to safeguard cross-border “Lu Q” transport. Last year, Lanshan logged 2,510 international road transport trips and 500 China-Europe train departures and arrivals. Linyi Customs introduced paperless clearance and measures such as “domestic freight deductions,” reducing declaration-to-release time to under 30 minutes, while streamlining procedures for driver visas and vehicle and cargo qualifications to make customs clearance more convenient and trade more efficient.

Moreover, Lanshan is continuously expanding its cross-border transport map. Lin-Man-Ou International Logistics Company was approved for GMS facilitation for cross-border transport, allowing “Lu Q” trucks to reach deep into Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar. From Linyi, “Lu Q” trucks can reach major Russian cities including Moscow and Saint Petersburg, while China-Europe freight trains keep a steady flow of European-bound goods such as Scots pine lumber back to Lanshan—establishing a new pattern of two-way trade.