Xinhua News Agency, Kunming, October 25 Topic: China Laos Railway: “Golden Passage” Highlights
Starting from Kunming, China in the north and ending in Vientiane, Laos in the south, the 1035 km long China Laos Railway has built a convenient “golden channel” between China and ASEAN. Since its opening on December 3, 2021, it has promoted efficient passenger and cargo exchanges along the line, realizing people’s enjoyment of their travel and smooth flow of goods, and becoming a road of happiness, development and friendship for the benefit of people along the line.
A series of speeding high-speed trains bring passengers from all directions. During this year’s National Day holiday, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province was crowded with tourists. Dai cuisine, rainforest trekking, river valley rafting… a variety of gameplay and colorful experiences attract tourists to come here.
“More and more tourists from Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and other Southeast Asian countries take the China Laos Railway to enter China and travel to Xishuangbanna.” Chen Yunya, deputy general manager of Xishuangbanna Renda International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., said that the railway has built a bridge between China and surrounding countries.
In order to further meet the demand of passengers from all over the world for cross-border travel by China Laos railway passenger trains, on April 13 this year, the railway departments of China and Laos opened an additional pair of international passenger trains between Xishuangbanna, China, and Luang Prabang, Laos, two major tourist cities. Passengers can travel between the two cities on the same day by train.
In the first three quarters of this year, the China Laos Railway has sent 177000 cross-border passengers, covering more than 100 countries and regions.
Relying on the China Laos railway, mechanical and electrical products and agricultural products made in China, as well as natural rubber and tropical fruits from Laos and Thailand, “two-way travel” has effectively promoted economic and trade exchanges along the line. According to the statistics of Kunming Customs, since the opening of the China Laos Railway, as of September this year, the import and export goods of the China Laos Railway have exceeded 10 million tons, with a value of more than 40 billion yuan.
At the China Railway Lianji Kunming Central Station in the suburbs of Kunming, large trucks shuttle back and forth, and container assembly, lifting, and distribution operations are carried out in an orderly manner.
“At present, cross-border freight transport has covered 12 countries jointly built along the the Belt and Road, including Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The daily number of cross-border freight trains has increased from 2 at the initial stage of opening to 14 at present, and the transport category has expanded from rubber and fertilizer at the initial stage to more than 2900 kinds of electronics, photovoltaic, communications and automobiles,” said Xu Chao, deputy general manager of China Railway Union Group Kunming Branch.
On September 24, the first “one order” freight train of China Laos Thailand multimodal transport started in Kunming, Yunnan, and went directly to Vientiane along the China Laos railway, and then transported to the wholesale market in Thailand by road. The whole process of “door-to-door” transportation took only 3.5 days.
Exporting Thai durian to China is more convenient. Chinese consumers can enjoy better quality durian, Thai enterprises and farmers share market opportunities, and the lives of people along the route continue to improve, “said Pan Jiaoling, Operations Director of Thailand’s Shibida International Logistics Co., Ltd.
The China Laos Railway has injected new momentum into the prosperity and development of the regional economy and accelerated the transformation of Yunnan from the end of opening-up to the front of opening-up.
Pu’er City, Yunnan Province ended the history of no trains due to the China Laos railway. Yunnan Jinkelong Coffee Industry Co., Ltd. seized the opportunity and settled in Simao Industrial Park, Pu’er City. The freeze-dried coffee powder, coffee concentrate, ear hanging coffee and other products produced by the company are sold to countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia through the China Laos Railway.
“The China Laos Railway has made it easier to import raw materials and export products, which is one of the reasons why we came to Pu’er for development.” Shi Huazhong, the deputy general manager of the company, said that taking the “express train”, the products can go abroad more quickly and go to the world.
“The China Laos Railway helps the local economic development into the” fast lane “.” The relevant person in charge of the Investment Promotion Bureau of Simao District, Puer City said that next, we will continue to seize the opportunity of the opening of the China Laos Railway, and attract more enterprises to invest and start business in Simao District around the development layout of characteristic industries along the railway.
From the perspective of helping the development along the line, the China Laos railway has great potential. “It is the responsibility and mission of the railway people to ensure the safety and stability of the China Laos railway transportation.” Zhao Yanfeng, director of the freight department of China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd., said that this magnificent “steel dragon” will contribute more to the joint construction of the “the Belt and Road” and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.