Lancang-Mekong stories in the past five years

Growing opportunities

Tran Thi Thanh Nga teaches Vietnamese in Yunnan Minzu University. She entered Yunnan Normal University in 2014 and continued her doctorate study in China.

In 2021, the Vietnamese version of the multi-lingual web-porter Yunnan Gateway, which is run by Yunnan Daily Press Group, resumed operation. Because of her language proficiency, Thanh Nga was invited to be a proof reader of the Vietnamese new letters.

Besides teaching, Thanh Nga also has live streaming on Douyin and WeChat, teaching Vietnamese to Chinese netizens.

She believes that the growing LMC mechanism will make the Vietnam-China railway more dynamic, bringing more opportunities for young people like her.

Eye-sight repairers

The Brightness-Journey is a medical program under the LMC mechanism, where top Chinese ophthalmologists were chosen to carry out free cataract surgeries in Myanmar and other Mekong countries.

“When we finished the surgeries and left the hospital, the patients and their families come to see us off, putting their palms together in a Zen gesture,” said Mei Yan, vice-president of the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province.

Yan added the scene moved the Chinese doctors a lot.

Learning together for dreams 

As a Vietnamese national, Le Thi Thao My has been majoring Electrical Engineering and Automation in Kunming University of Science and Technology for three years. Most of her classmates are from the Mekong countries.

Educational cooperation in the LMC area has boosted confidence, deepened cultural exchanges and increased people-to-people exchanges.

At present, over 100 Mekong students from Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia are on the electric-system programs at the Kunming-based university.

Sights on international tours

Zhou Jun is a bus driver at Xishuangbanna J-max Tourist Company, the OCT Yunnan World Expo Tourist Group.

Zhou had regular driving tours between Xishuangbanna and the Houayxay port in Thailand, passing through the Mohan land port to pick up international visitors. It took him five to seven days to finish each round tour.

On average, Zhou picks up at least four tourist groups from Thailand.

Zhou said in pursuing his dream, he will drive safe and sound for the Lancang-Mekong tourists, so that they can have more enjoyable tours.

By Gateway reporters