Laos Railway handles 48.6 million passenger trips, 54 million tons of goods since operation

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By Zhang Yiyi (Global Times) 15:03, March 04, 2025

Lao bananas and cassava starch now reach China directly by rail, slashing transport costs by 40 percent, while Chinese photovoltaic modules delivered via the railway have powered Laos' first floating solar plant, reducing annual carbon emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons. The variety of cross-border goods has expanded from a handful of items like rubber and fertilizer to more than 3,000 kinds, including electronics, photovoltaics, telecommunications, and automobiles, further driving regional trade.

"Laos has the ideal soil and climate for banana cultivation, producing sweet, tender and soft-textured bananas, which are highly popular in China," Zhang Zhongyi, general manager of Beijing Yongxin Hengchang Fruit Co, a retailer of the Lao bananas, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The bananas from this shipment will be distributed through both online and physical channels, including major platforms like JD.com, Meituan, and Guoduomei, and are likely to sell out within a week," said Zhang.

Railway authorities of China and Laos have implemented targeted measures to accommodate the growing demand for passenger travel, boosting cultural exchanges.

Deng Deng, a traveler from East China's Zhejiang Province, took the China-Laos Railway to visit Luang Prabang last year. She found the train clean and well equipped, with immigration stops manageable.

"The ride was fast, and the instructions for immigration were clear, meanwhile, the entry process in Laos was slow, which took me about one hour," Deng told the Global Times.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)