China-Laos Railway registers 40,000+ cross-border passenger trips

A photo shows the Mohan entry-exit border checkpoint in southwest China's Yunnan Province. [Photo/Wei Hailin]

The China-Laos Railway, which initiated cross-border passenger services on April 13, reported 41,735 cross-border passenger trips by July 22, marking its 100th day of operation.

Throughout this period, the railway port in Mohan, a Chinese border town located in southwest Yunnan Province, logged 200 train trips serving passengers from 49 countries and regions.

The number of inbound passengers was 12.2 percent more than the number of outbound passengers, with 54 percent of them being tourists, according to the Mohan entry-exit border checkpoint.

Passengers wait to take a cross-border passenger train on the China-Laos Railway at the Mohan entry-exit border checkpoint in southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 22, 2023. [Photo/Wei Hailin]

The cross-border passenger service on the China-Laos Railway has become a preferred mode of transportation for many Chinese citizens and international travelers, who utilize it for cross-border travel, educational pursuits, business dealings, and cultural exchanges. Additionally, the railway is the primary transport option for Southeast Asian tropical fruits such as durian and mangosteen exported to China.

Sun Yueling, an overseas Chinese from Canada who once worked in Luang Prabang, Laos, poses for a photo before taking a cross-border passenger train bound for Laos on the China-Laos Railway, July 22, 2023. [Photo/Wei Hailin]

"I hope that the China-Laos Railway can serve as a bridge for exchanges between China and Laos, as well as between China and the wider world," said Sun Yueling, an overseas Chinese from Canada, who boarded a train bound for Laos at the Mohan railway port on July 22. Sun previously spent three years working in Luang Prabang, Laos.