The first passenger train bound for Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan province prepares for departure from Laos capital Vientiane, April 13, 2023. (PHOTO: VCG)

Edited by TANG Zhexiao

The China-Laos Railway, which connects Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province with Laos' capital Vientiane, launched cross-border passenger services on April 13.

China-Laos Railway opens up a new path for Laos' development and prosperity. The then Laos Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone said the operation of the China-Laos Railway has greatly enhanced Laos' international strategic position, turning Laos into an important hub for transportation in the region.

Laos is the only landlocked country in the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with mountains and plateaus accounting for about 80 percent of the national land area.

Huang Hong, director of CREC Laos-China Railway Project Construction Headquarters, highlighted the transformative impact of the railway on Laos, turning it from a land-locked country into a land-linked hub and bringing countless jobs for locals. He also mentioned in an interview with Global Times that the railway has become an Instagram-worthy landmark.

The railway has shortened cross-border travel time from days to hours. Previously, a trip from Vientiane to Kunming would take two to three days and required changing buses. Now it only takes 10 and a half hours.

"This train journey from Laos to China is much more convenient compared with the highway trip I made three years ago. It saves travel time and allows me to enjoy the scenery along the route," said Saykhampha Daophasouk, a Laotian student who came to study in Kunming.

The sections of the line that run through the hills of northern Laos are an undeniably impressive feat of engineering, according to The Diplomat, adding that transport infrastructure (mostly highways) has threaded its way through this terrain since the first decade of the 2000s, prompting a reorientation of the region's economy to the north of Laos.

As a major part of the trans-Asian railway network, the railway not only benefits Laos but also other BRI countries.

Thailand, a neighboring country of Laos, is sharing the joy. In Thailand's northeastern border province of Nong Khai, many people in the tourism industry have already benefited since the railway was launched as many more tourists pour in.

Sometimes they stay overnight and catch the train the next day, and sometimes we have more guests than we can serve, said Jiranun Sakultangphaisal, an advisor to the tourism association in Nong Khai.

Through improved connectivity, Laos can facilitate more trade between domestic provinces and China, as well as with its BRI neighbors.

Daovone Phachanthavong, vice-president of Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that many companies are considering investing in Laos because goods from ASEAN countries can now be sent to Europe through the Laos-China Railway.

According to a World Bank report, transit trade through Laos could reach 3.9 million tons by 2030 from 1.6 million tons in 2016 and shift an estimated 1.5 million tons of maritime transport to the railway.

Under the framework of the BRI, the China-Laos Railway is believed to further contribute to the development in BRI region.