Lanzhou in China's Gansu pioneers reform, opening up via land port, airport development

Lanzhou, the capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, has been a pioneer in deepening reform and opening up in the Chinese hinterland through the development of an international land port and the expansion of its airport, thereby greatly advancing the province's deep integration into the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The International Land Port of Gansu (Lanzhou) is an important international logistics hub for Belt and Road cooperation. In recent years, it has seized the opportunity of auto export, developing a mature whole-process automotive service industrial chain spanning vehicle inspection, customs declaration, logistics, and transportation.

"The International Land Port of Gansu (Lanzhou) embodies Gansu Province's deep integration into the BRI. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has clearly stressed efforts to further deepen reform and opening up and mentioned openness many times. Over the years, we have opened 10 ports and carried out economic and trade exchanges with over 30 BRI countries and regions - all thanks to the opening up," said Yang Shipeng, deputy director of the management committee of the land port.

"Next, we will leverage the raising momentum of reform from the third plenary session to build a return distribution center for the China-Europe (China-Central Asia) freight trains. Second, taking advantage of the vigorous development of automotive industry, we will build a centralized trade center for domestic auto export, thereby achieving the overall assembly and shipment operations at the land port," he said.

Since the start of the construction of the land port, core functional projects such as the Lanzhou Railway Port, Railway Container Freight Center, and Multimodal Logistics Park have been completed and are operational, with a total of 1,490 international trains in operation and 97,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods transported.

"In the context of the BRI, our primary focus is on imports and exports through international freight trains. At present, we are engaged in sending and arrival businesses with full-load import and export freight trains to five countries in Central Asia, along with countries in South Asia such as Nepal and Afghanistan, as well as European countries, including Russia, Belarus, and France. As of now, we have operated 172 trains with a total of 7,128 cars. This year, we have initiated operations for 20 trains carrying 580 cars to Central Asia and sent four trains with 116 cars to Europe," said Lu Weixi, officer at the Lanzhou Railway Logistics Center.

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized that openness is a clear sign of Chinese modernization. In recent years, Gansu Province has opened nearly 10 international freight routes, including Lanzhou-Bangkok, Lanzhou-Lahore, Lanzhou-Phnom Penh, Lanzhou-Copenhagen, Lanzhou-Moscow and Lanzhou-Almaty, significantly propelling Gansu's deep integration into the high-quality development of the BRI.

"Through deepening sincere cooperation with upstream and downstream enterprises in the aviation and tourism sectors, we have improved over 50 passenger and cargo routes and flights in terms of number and frequency within and outside the province and in BRI countries. The passenger and cargo throughputs at the airport have experienced rapid growth," said Luo Bin, general manager of the Gansu Civil Aviation Airport Group.

The third-phase expansion of Zhongchuan International Airport in Lanzhou entails an investment of 33.55 billion yuan (around 4.71 billion U.S. dollars), according to the airport operator.

The project aims to facilitate an increase in the airport's annual passenger throughput to 38 million and annual cargo and mail throughput to 300,000 tons by 2030.

The expansion includes the construction of two new runways, a third terminal, 91 aircraft stands, and a comprehensive transportation center that connects with the railway system.

"The passenger throughput is 38 million, the cargo throughput is 300,000, and there are 300,000 takeoffs and landings. The entire project includes two new runways and a terminal covering an area of 400,000 square meters. Throughout the project's construction, cutting-edge intelligence has been implemented across various aspects from flight scheduling to passenger services, with the utilization of new energy materials reaching 73 percent," said He Youshan, executive deputy commander-in-chief of the project headquarters.

Lanzhou in China's Gansu pioneers reform, opening up via land port, airport development

Residents at a temporary shelter in South Korea are coming to terms with the shock of losing their homes in the worst wildfires in the country's history, with the deadly blazes which have been burning since late last month forcing tens of thousands of people to be evacuated.

The devastating fires -- which first erupted back on March 21 -- have claimed the lives of at least 30 people and injured dozens of others, while more than 3,500 houses and 30 national heritage sites have been damaged.

The flames have so far spread across more than 48,000 hectares of land, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

Shell-shocked local people have been sharing the horrifying stories of how they became overwhelmed by the fast-spreading flames and had to rush from their homes.

Jo Soo-gap, a resident of the Yeongdeok County in the severely affected North Gyeongsang Province, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) of the moment the flames approached.

"We didn't think it would come all the way to our area. That evening, while we were at home, the wind picked up. It felt stronger than a typhoon. I thought it was getting dangerous, so l was preparing to leave with my wife. Then suddenly a neighbor shouted, 'The fire's coming! Get out now!' So we just got in the car and drove toward Pohang,” he recalled.

"When we finally returned at dawn, we found our house had completely burned down and collapsed. Other homes, even if they were mostly destroyed, still had some parts of the frame left. But ours was a two-story villa-style home, and it had completely caved in – flattened right down to its foundation. There was nothing for us left to retrieve,” lamented Jo.

He expressed the hope that the government would help him and his family, as well as the many others affected, to rebuild their homes, while issuing a clear warning to others about the dangers posed by wildfires.

"We hope recovery efforts can proceed quickly, and that the government or local authorities can provide permanent housing so we can rebuild our lives. Fire prevention is no small matter, people should never carry any flammable objects when going into the mountains or fields. I want to emphasize this very clearly," he said.

Meanwhile, Kim Woo-seok, chairman of the Pohang Medical Association, explained how medics are handling the various problems brought by the wildfires, with a particular focus being placed on the welfare of those suffering from chronic diseases.

"The most pressing concern for us is people with chronic illnesses, such as those with high blood pressure or diabetes who need to constantly take their medication. Some patients did not have time to grab their medicines during the evacuation, and the drug withdrawal can cause sudden spikes in their blood pressure or blood sugar levels. So it's crucial that we monitor and stabilize their conditions as quickly as possible,” he said.

Kim stressed that the psychological trauma brought by the wildfires is the most pressing issue, as people slowly come to terms with the significant losses they have suffered.

"However, the biggest emotional shock comes from losing one's home or seeing a loved one fall ill. Those situations can cause severe emotional trauma. People can develop symptoms like panic attacks or depression as a result. These issues require proper counseling and treatment, as the emotional stress can also cause physical symptoms, such as back pain or joint pain. Those are the common cases we see," he said.

Shell-shocked South Korean evacuees lament loss of homes in deadly wildfires