Three years since its launch, the China-Laos Railway is racking up accolades for passenger safety and high standards. It’s also attracting intrepid travellers keen to explore destinations in China that were once well off the beaten track.
The train has completed thousands of trips without a single safety incident, carrying 43 million passengers on the 1,035-km line linking Kunming in south-west China's Yunnan Province and the Laotian capital of Vientiane.
Round-trip services between Kunming and Vientiane allow same-day arrival.
It has coped with heavy traffic, torrential rains and earthquakes over the past three years of operation, but has maintained its incident-free safety record.
The railway has allowed travellers to explore lesser-known destinations in China, one of them being Xishuangbanna, which is popular for its mild winters.
"An increasing number of travellers from Southeast Asia, countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and Laos, are taking the China-Laos Railway into China to visit Xishuangbanna," said Chen Yunya, deputy general manager of Xishuangbanna Renda international travel agency.
On November 19, the China-Laos Railway city alliance was established in Kunming to promote cultural exchanges between China and Laos.