China-Laos Railway smooths way for border dwellers

Passengers line up to board an electric multiple unit (EMU) train of the China-Laos Railway at Kunming Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Dec. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

KUNMING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- At about 9:26 p.m. on Dec. 3, the first train on the China section of the China-Laos Railway arrived at Mohan railway station in the southwestern province of Yunnan, less than five hours after setting off.

Enveloped in deep mountains, the township of Mohan in Mengla County, on the border with Laos, has long suffered remoteness and poverty.

"It took me a week to travel from here to Kunming (capital of Yunnan Province) when I was a child, but now it takes just over four hours," said Huang Zhenghua, 46, from the village of Shangyong in Mohan.

The electrified passenger and freight railway covers 1,035 km from Kunming to the Lao capital Vientiane, with 422 km of the route passing through Laos. As an important part of the trans-Asian railway network, it will exert a positive impact on economic cooperation in the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Greater Mekong Subregion.

At the local level, the residents of the border area are already feeling the benefits. It has become much easier to travel to other Chinese cities, and even to countries in Southeast Asia, signaling an improvement in both their economic prospects and their personal lives.

Mohan railway station is the last stop on the newly-built railway before trains leave China for Laos, and the surrounding area is inhabited by people from the Dai and Hani ethnic groups, among others.

"In the future, we will develop rural tourism with ethnic characteristics," said Ai Wenbing, an official from Shangyong Village. "The local agricultural products can also be transported northward to cities nationwide by train, and southward to South and Southeast Asia."

Ai said he needs to attend training outside of Mohan for several months every year. Now, it is easier for him to embark on such trips.

Mi Bohan, a 67-year-old Dai villager, was once a businesswoman and always on the road traveling to different cities, leaving behind her husband who suffers from ill health.

"I've always wanted to take my husband to see the places I visited, but it was impossible for him to endure the hardship of a long journey," said Mi.

Now, the railway has helped Mi and her husband realize such a simple wish, and their first destination is Kunming.

Thanks to the new railway, the small town overlooked for so long has demonstrated its geographical importance and taken a prominent role in China's opening-up. For the residents, things can only get better.

"A bright future beckons for our village!" said Ai.