Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province has welcomed an increasing number of Lao tourists thanks to the convenient China-Laos Railway services and favorable visa-free policies.
To better cater to Lao tourists, major scenic areas across Xishuangbanna have upgraded their facilities, adding multilingual guide signs, ensuring full coverage of mobile payment, and improving supporting services in accommodation, communication and catering.
"I hope I will have the chance to come again, because this place is very beautiful, and I really like it. The natural scenery is very stunning, and the aquatic and land animals are very pretty," said a Lao tourist.
Benefiting from visa-free policies and the China-Laos Railway services, the number of tourists from Laos to Xishuangbanna continues to rise. In the first four months of this year, the number of Lao overnight tourists to Xishuangbanna increased by 25.75 percent year on year.
"Lao tourists no longer need to prepare paperwork far in advance as before. Now, with just one or two days, you can arrange your itinerary and book railway tickets and then organize a trip to our beautiful Xishuangbanna," said Yan Hanpeng, a tour guide.
Local Mohan border checkpoint has implemented various convenient measures, such as 24-hour barrier-free clearance, improving on-site border inspection efficiency by over 30 percent.
Last year, the number of foreign passengers entering the Mohan Railway Port visa free reached over 13,400, up 48 percent year on year.
China released a new visa relaxation policy in Feb 2025, allowing tour groups from Laos and other ASEAN member states to visit Xishuangbanna visa free for up to six days.
China's Xishuangbanna sees growing Lao tourist numbers due to favorable transportation, policies
China's Shenzhou-23 astronauts have spent more than 80 days aboard the Tiangong Space Station, where they have advanced a broad slate of scientific experiments and operational training drills over the past week as the mission progresses steadily.
Last week, the three astronauts, namely Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying, carried out multiple parallel space science experiments and tests, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The crew completed in-orbit electroencephalogram (EEG) tests and behavioral experiments for the microgravity intuitive physics project, examining how prolonged spaceflight affects astronauts' brain functional networks and their ability to form intuitive physical representations.
They also collected and processed blood samples for research programs including bone metabolism interactive regulation and space integrative omics, supporting studies on the changing patterns of the human skeletal, nervous and other physiological systems during long-duration spaceflight.
In addition, kinematic characteristic experiments were conducted to provide support for ergonomic design and evaluation.
In the field of psychological and behavioral research, the trio finished an emergency decision-making capability assessment and an in-orbit emotional state test, part of ongoing work to track changes in crew performance and mental status throughout long-term on-orbit missions.
Alongside scientific endeavors, the astronauts pushed ahead with scheduled in-orbit training and emergency drills to reinforce their operational skills and response readiness.
Footage from the orbital complex shows the crew honing their skills on the on-orbit teleoperation rendezvous and docking training system, practicing manual docking, teleoperated docking and manual evacuation maneuvers by operating translation and attitude control handles.
They also completed in-orbit medical rescue training to familiarize themselves with rescue procedures and force application characteristics in a microgravity environment.
Furthermore, the crew carried out the second full-system pressure emergency drill, further consolidating their emergency handling capabilities and improving space-ground coordination efficiency.
China launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship on May 24. The mission includes a one-year in-orbit study designed to gather data for future long-duration human space missions.
China's Shenzhou-23 crew advance space science experiments, in-orbit training
