A float featuring a bullet train of the China-Laos Railway made its appearance during the grand parade celebrating the Lao national day in Vientiane on Tuesday, or December 2, the date marking the railway's fourth anniversary of operation.
The float was modeled on the "Lancang" bullet train manufactured by China's CRRC Corporation as the primary train serving the Lao section of the railway, which is able to reach a speed up to 160 kilometers per hour.
Over the past four years, China State Railway Group (China Railway) and Lao railway authorities have collaborated closely to enhance high-level connectivity between China and ASEAN, with sustained growth in traffic and significantly improved service quality.
As of the anniversary date, the railway had handled over 62.5 million passenger trips, not only injecting new vitality to the society, but also bringing great convenience to locals.
"[Back then], each ride back home was very difficult because it took several hours to travel by bus, and the arrival of the Chinese train made the journey much more convenient, taking only two hours," said Nithida, a resident.
As for cargo transportation, the China-Laos Railway has handled over 72.5 million tons of goods over the past for four years, with the types of goods expanding to more than 3,800.
Shipping costs for freight from Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province to Thailand through Laos have fallen by 30 percent to 50 percent, and domestic transport costs within Laos have dropped by 20 percent to 40 percent, making the line an important "new engine" for regional economic growth.
"Since the railway opened, it has been convenient and fast. The railway is almost unaffected by weather. Time is cut in half, and costs are reduced by about 50 percent," said Wang Lijun, head of a logistics company in Laos.
The railway has also fueled a tourism boom. Railway authorities in China and Laos have cooperated with tourism departments in both countries to leverage the visa-free transit policy and advance an integrated development model featuring railway, culture and tourism. Several cross-border tour routes have been launched between Kunming and Vientiane.
So far, around 640,000 tourists from more than 120 countries and regions, including Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, the United States and the United Kingdom, have traveled on cross-border international passenger trains along the route.
China-Laos Railway 'train float' debuts at Lao national day parade
