The one-year-old China-Laos Railway international passenger service offers new dining and drinking options to allow passengers to experience unique culinary culture.
The 1,035-kilometer China-Laos Railway, which connects Kunming, the provincial capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with the Lao capital Vientiane, began operations in December 2021 and started serving international passengers on April 13, 2023.
Starting from Saturday, which marked the first anniversary of the service, passengers can have a sip of hand-brewed coffee made from a mixture of beans grown in Yunnan and Laos on the Chinese section of the rail line.
"The cup of coffee in my hand is made from beans from China and Laos, coupled with Pu'er tea and milk. The coffee is mellow and smooth. On a cross-border train, by scanning the QR code next to a seat, a passenger can order an Americano or signature coffee drink, and customize the sweetness and temperature level," said Luo Kexin, a reporter of China Central Television (CCTV).
In addition to drinks, more food options become available on the China-Laos Railway, offering passengers with 15 new boxed meals, which feature Yunnan or Southeast Asian cuisine and cost between 15 and 40 yuan (between 2.07 and 5.53 U.S. dollars). And the foods are produced with packaging in Chinese, Lao and English languages.
"Not only coffee, but also boxed meals have seen upgrades, including Yunnan's rice noodle soup 'cross-the-bridge noodles' with rich ingredients, local Dai ethnic group's specialty dishes, and child-friendly, elephant-shaped rice with fish, meat, or vegetable topping," said Luo.
As cross-border travel has risen in popularity, the China-Laos Railway international passenger service has seen an increase in the number of children and elderly passengers, who may need special care.
"On China-Laos Railway passenger trains, there are many Chinese knots of different colors being hung on coat hooks. They are used to help train attendants to identify passengers who may need special care in a timely manner and provide services," said Luo.
According to the China State Railway Group, which oversees the China-Laos Railway's international passenger service operation, they have handled 700,000 passenger trips one year after the service began.
Among them, about 180,000 passenger trips from 87 countries and regions took the cross-border service.
The China-Laos Railway has become a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub in the Indo-China Peninsula, benefiting both countries and beyond.
Train on China-Laos Railway offers passengers with gastronomic delights
