The China-Laos Railway marks its fourth anniversary on Dec. 3. Since its launch four years ago, the 1,035-kilometer railway, connecting Kunming in southwest China with the Lao capital Vientiane, has quickly become a major corridor for travel, trade and regional connectivity.

How has the railway performed?

--Passenger services

Locals often sum up the convenience with a simple phrase: "Breakfast in Kunming, dinner in Vientiane."

The fastest end-to-end journey now takes 9 hours and 36 minutes, effectively shrinking the distance between the two cities to a single day's travel.

According to official data, by December 2, 2025, the line had operated 88,000 passenger trains, handling more than 62.5 million passenger trips, including nearly 640,000 cross-border travelers.

--Freight services

Its freight operations have expanded just as rapidly. "On the Lancang-Mekong Express, Thai durians reach Kunming in three days, Lao bananas reach Beijing in seven."

By Dec. 2, 2025, the line had run 64,000 freight trains, transporting over 72.5 million tonnes of goods, including 16 million tonnes of cross-border freight.

Over 3,800 types of commodities now move across the line, ranging from Southeast Asian tropical fruits to Chinese new-energy vehicles and photovoltaic modules.

Why does the line matter for the region?

As a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation, the railway has enhanced regional connectivity and served as a new driver of regional economic growth.

--A land-locked country becomes land-linked

For Laos, the railway now gives the country direct access to wider Asian and European markets.

To the north, it connects to the China-Europe freight trains, also known as China Railway Express, enabling goods from Laos and Thailand to reach Europe in as little as 15 days via transfer hubs in China. To the south, it links to Laos, Myanmar and 17 other countries and regions, forming a growing web of overland transport routes.

The opening of the Vientiane South transshipment hub has further integrated Lao rail operations with networks in Thailand and Malaysia. This has shortened delivery times for regional specialties, such as durians, mangosteens and beer, into both Chinese and European markets.

Another less visible impact of the railway lies in skills development. China has sent 1,252 technical and managerial staff to Laos, who have helped train 1,475 local railway workers, including 32 fully qualified Lao locomotive drivers, effectively forming the country's first generation of railway talent.

--Cuts in transport costs

According to a World Bank report, in the four years since the railway opened, land transport prices between Vientiane and Kunming have fallen by 40% to 50%, and freight costs from Kunming through Laos to Thailand have dropped by 30% to 50%. Meanwhile, domestic logistics costs in Laos decreased by 20% to 40%.

--A rising tourism corridor

The railway is also emerging as a major tourism route. Since opening, it has operated 2,674 international passenger trains. Daily border crossings have surged from around 300 at the start to a peak of 1,400. Travellers from more than 120 countries have used the service to visit Vientiane, explore Yunnan or travel deeper into China.

Along its length, the railway links more than 560 scenic attractions, including nine UNESCO world natural heritage sites and 26 world cultural heritage sites, turning it into a rising tourism belt.

Four years on, the China–Laos Railway has grown from a new cross-border link into a "golden corridor," reshaping transport, trade and travel across mainland Southeast Asia.

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By Xinhua Reporters Wang Jingyun, Ding Yiquan

All data is provided by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.