Photo: Chinanews.com

The first rail-sea intermodal special train between East China's Jiangxi Province and Taiwan departed from Nanchang on Monday afternoon and is heading for the island, according to post on the WeChat account of the Nanchang Railway.

The train will arrive at the port of Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province on Tuesday and the freight will further go to ports in Taiwan, including Keelung and Kaohsiung, the post said. 

The goods carried by the 25 carriages on this special train include paper and copper products as well as fabrics. The new rail-sea intermodal transportation will also make up for the traditional disadvantages of maritime transportation, such as shortage of containers, and will shorten the overall shipment time by about two days. 

Running of trains is another example of the growing trade ties between the mainland and Taiwan despite political disputes. Data from mainland customs show that trade between the mainland and the island of Taiwan grew 27.3 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2021.

Data revealed by Taiwan also show that the region's exports to the mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region hit an all-time high of $188.9 billion in 2021, as demand for the island's computer chips was high, according to media reports.