The China-Laos Railway has significantly boosted tourism along the route, helping consumption momentum and promoting cultural exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The comment came after the opening of an additional pair of international tourism trains linking Xishuangbanna city in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province and Luang Prabang in Laos on Saturday, the first anniversary of the launch of the China-Laos Railway’s international passenger service.
The China-Laos Railway is a premium infrastructure project between China and Southeast Asian countries to promote high-quality construction and connection of China proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
Lin said that the railway has become a significant link connecting ASEAN countries while offering a strong impetus for propelling high-quality development of the two economies with continuously growing passenger and freight traffic and convenient traveling since its operation two years ago.
Lin said that that the cross-border passenger train line linking major cities in China and Laos have greatly facilitated tourists to visit cultural monuments and natural scenic spots. Over the past year, a total of 734 trains have completed journeys, transporting 700,000 passengers and attracting more than 180,000 tourists from 87 countries and regions crossing the border.