China-Laos railway revitalizes nearby villages

"It used to take me about one week to travel from Mohan to Kunming, but now it only takes more than 4 hours," said Huang Zhenghua, a Mohan native in south Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture.

After less than 5 hours' driving, the first train on the China-Laos Railway arrived at Mohan, the last station of the China-Laos Railway in China at 21:26 of December 3. From that day on, it will be more convenient to travel from Mohan to other Chinese cities and ASEAN countries.

"We will focus on tourism in distinct ethnic villages in the future. And the local agricultural products can also be transported to the said areas via the railway," said Yan Wenbing, member of the Shangyong villagers’ committee, Mohan town.

Located near the China-Laos border, the Mohan station is surrounded by villages of ethnic minorities such as Dai and Hani.“I need to be trained in other cities for for months each year, and the business tours were time consuming. But now it is much easier and safer,” added Yan.

"The train opened, and I can finally take my wife out for a trip. Our first stop is Kunming," said Mi Bohan, a 67-year-old Dai villager in Mohan.

The Shangyong village that no one cares about in the past is now the gateway and first stop for the country to connect its neighbors, according to Yan. 

Reporting by Zhao Cailin, Ding Yiquan (Xinhua); Trans-editing by Yang Xuan