Aerial photo taken on July 22, 2022 shows a freight train running on the Xishansi grand bridge in the Dali-Baoshan section of the Dali-Ruili Railway in southwest China's Yunnan Province.(Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

China's rail freight volume, a key indicator of economic activities, went up 4.4 percent year on year in 2022, data from the Ministry of Transport showed.

Over 4.98 billion tonnes of cargo were transported by China's railways last year, 211 million tonnes more than that of 2021, according to a report released by the ministry.

Total turnover of China's rail cargo transportation topped 3.59 trillion tonne-kilometers in the same period, rising 8.1 percent on a yearly basis, the data revealed.

China's rail freight volume climbed 2.3 percent year on year to 970 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2023.