Aerial photo shows a Fuxing bullet train running through Nanxihe grand bridge on the China-Laos Railway in southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 2, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

The first direct freight train carrying tropical fruits arrived at Mohan Port in Southwest China's Yunnan Province via the China-Laos Railway, marking the operation of direct fruit transport along the railway, as the line's one year anniversary came, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

Assembled in Vientiane, Laos, the freight train carrying shipment of fruit included 25 containers with 543 tons of banana, longan and durian, firstly arriving at the new customs clearing and inspection zone at the Mohan Port. 

The fruits shipment originated from a number of Southeast Asia countries, and will be sent to different provinces and cities across the Chinese mainland. 

Since the China-Laos Railway entered official operation on December 3, 2021, the railway has transported more than 8.5 million passengers, and over 11.2 million tons of freight, according to China Railway Kunming Group Co. 

According to data from the World Bank, the China-Laos Railway has significantly reduced land transport cost by as much as 40 to 50 percent between Vientiane and Kunming, and potentially increasing the aggregate income of Laos by up to 21 percent after connecting the land-locked country to the vast Belt and Road network. 

Global Times