Laos holds a grand military parade on Dec. 2 in Vientiane to celebrate the country’s 40th anniversary. (Photo/Xinhua)

A section of the Sino-Laos railway (Vientiane to Boten) started construction on Wednesday. The railway, connecting Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and China's Kunming in Yunnan province, is expected to be completed in 2020.

Laos is the only landlocked country in southeast Asia. With inconvenient transport, Laos remains somewhat mysterious to the outside world. However, the situation may be changed within five years.

According to information published on the Chinese government website, the Sino-Laos railway is the first overseas railway project mainly constructed, operated and invested by China. It will be directly connected with China's domestic railway network. The construction will be done in accordance with Chinese technical standards and use China-made equipment. The total investment reaches nearly 40 billion yuan (6.25 billon USD), in which China and Laos hold a respective 7: 3 ratio of shares.

In Laos, the railway starts from border city Boten, passes through Muang Xai, Luangprabang, Vang Vieng and ends at Vientiane, covering a total length of 427.1 km. with a designed hourly speed of 160 km. Sixty percent of the railway will be built on bridges or through tunnels. 

Currently, besides flying, people can only travel from China's Kunming to Laos's Vientiane via bus. This takes a total of two days and three nights. With the Sino-Laos railway, the journey can be shortened to about 10 hours.