1st cargo train of China-Laos Railway for Laos leaves Mohan railway port

Photo taken on Dec. 4, 2021 shows an international freight train bound for Laos running near the China-Laos border. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

The first cargo train of the China-Laos Railway bound for Laos arrived at the Mohan railway port on Dec. 4 morning and passed through the cross-border friendship tunnel.

The China-Laos Railway, a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, started operation on Friday.

The electrified passenger and freight railway runs 1,035 kilometers, including 422 kilometers in Laos, from the city of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, to Lao capital Vientiane.

As a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country into a land-linked hub, the railway is of great significance to bilateral economic, social and cultural exchanges as well as the regional connectivity.

With a maximum operating speed of 160 km per hour, the running time from Kunming to Vientiane takes about 10 hours, including customs clearance time.

Aerial photo taken on Dec. 4, 2021 shows an international freight train bound for Laos near the China-Laos border. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Aerial photo taken on Dec. 4, 2021 shows an international freight train bound for Laos at the border town of Mohan in southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Photo taken on Dec. 4, 2021 shows an international freight train bound for Laos passing through the friendship tunnel. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)