Lao Young People Who Write to General Secretary Xi Jinping: Because a Railway Changed the Path of Life in Laos | Railway | Laos
How can a railway change the life trajectory of young people in a country? Not long ago, students from Shanghai University of Applied Technology came to Laos to visit their former classmates and friends, and now the China Laos railway operation and maintenance technicians. They came here with the dream of becoming "Lao Zhan Tianyou" in 2018, and returned home in 2021 to become the first batch of railway engineers in Laos.
Now that a year and a half have passed, how are these young Laotian people working and living? What changes has the China Laos Railway brought to the local area? Taking the China Laos railway train, Shanghai teachers and students experienced the vivid practice of the "the Belt and Road" initiative in Laos.
A happy path: bringing Laos closer to the world
On the noon of July 19th, departing from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, teachers and students boarded the C81 high-speed train at the Modin Railway Station in Laos. The train departed at 13:30 and headed south towards the Luang Prabang Station, 168 kilometers away.
"We took the domestic Fuxing bullet train, and the ride experience was exactly the same as in China." Jiang Xinyu, a student of Shangying No.3 University, noticed that as an international train, "Fuxing" was decorated with red ribbons in green paint, and the seat pillows were specially embroidered with the Laos flower Champa.
Leaving the Moding station, the train began to accelerate. Laos is located in the northern part of the Indochinese Peninsula, with undulating high mountains. The so-called mountain road is a red mud road with poor conditions and steep terrain, making it difficult to travel. In the past, there were mainly two ways to travel to the ancient capital of Luang Prabang. One was by plane, with few flights and high ticket prices that ordinary people could not afford, and the other was to travel by car for five to six hours from Boten. The opening of the China Laos Railway has given the local people a third choice - to take a smooth and comfortable bullet train at Boten Station and spend 193000 kip to get there in an hour and a half.
"The entire carriage is fully booked, with passengers getting on and off at every station." Li Peigang, the teacher in charge and a teacher at the School of Rail Transit at Shangying University, also took this high-speed train in April this year. At that time, it was the peak season for local tourism, and there were many foreign backpackers and travel groups on board; Nowadays, the carriages are mostly filled with local people. Through communication, it has been learned that some of them go on business trips, some visit friends, some do business, and some just take the train with their families to taste the new things.
The significance of the China Laos Railway lies in front of teachers and students. It improves the travel conditions of residents along the line, connects local tourism resources, and brings Laos closer to the world. More importantly, the speeding trains are injecting new development momentum into the areas along the route. According to the data, between January and May this year, the China Laos railway was prosperous in both passenger and cargo traffic, sending 1.084 million passengers and 1.756 million tons of goods. In just three days, glutinous rice from Laos and durian from Thailand can appear on the tables of Chinese consumers.
"Behind this road lies the contribution of our trained Laotian railway engineers," Li Peigang told reporters. In northern Laos, there are high mountains and dense forests, and some areas have accumulated a maximum annual rainfall of over 4000 millimeters. The pressure of flood control and drainage in summer is particularly heavy. It is the joint efforts of the Chinese and Laotian railway people to ensure the smooth operation of this railway artery.
A group of young people: the railway takes them out of the mountains
At 14:59 on the same day, the "Hulk" train stopped slowly at Luang Prabang Station, and five Lao students who had worked at the Luang Prabang Maintenance Center of the China Laos Railway had been waiting on the platform for a long time. Shanghai teachers and students brought them more than 20 boxes of Dim sum prepared by the Shanghai Friendship Association.
Xu Yiqing, a senior student at Shangying University, saw his classmate friend Wei Bo at a glance and hugged him tightly. "It's been a year since we last met, but this guy has become black and strong, with a good complexion," he said. Weibo told his Chinese classmates that he works very hard and usually lives in a dormitory, so he doesn't have much time to go home. But when it comes to income, the corners of Wei Bo's mouth start to rise. After becoming a full-time employee, he earns 10 million kip per month, while the average monthly salary of the locals is over 1000 yuan. With this high-income job, I bought a motorcycle for Bo and planned to save money to buy a small car for my family.
"My classmates have debuted, so those who are teachers can rest assured." Li Peigang and his Laotian students hugged each other one by one. Su Song, a young man, has become a Laotian foreman and can proficiently and accurately use railway equipment on the front line; The bulky Kaifa has been upgraded from a railway worker to a dispatcher, and needs to have a comprehensive understanding of the railway situation along the entire line; Dijia's thatched cottage has been transformed into a brick and tile house, and some electrical appliances have been added; Even if some students leave their original positions due to health reasons, the new job is still related to railways, and Chinese tour guides welcome more Chinese tourists.
A railway has changed the fate of many people around us. Nowadays, more and more young Laotian people, like Wei Bo and Su Song, have emerged from the vast mountains because of this steel dragon. Data shows that since the opening of the China Laos Railway, more than 3500 Lao employees have been recruited, and 100000 jobs have been indirectly added to logistics, transportation, commerce, tourism and other industries.
In Luang Prabang, Laotian classmates brought Chinese teachers and students to a room near Sufanufeng University.
This is the significance of training Laotian railway engineers in Shanghai. In the process of promoting the "the Belt and Road" initiative from "freehand brushwork" to "fine brushwork", not only tall projects are needed, but also more small and beautiful projects such as "training local engineers" are needed. The accumulation of many "small and beautiful" will make the grand narrative of the "the Belt and Road" more exciting.
More Dream Chasers: "Small yet Beautiful" Still Continues
This kind of "small yet beautiful" continues.
On July 21, at Sufanufeng University, the China Laos Railway Engineering Higher Education Cooperation Project started a new round of enrollment. According to Lu Chenxu, a teacher from Shangying University who participated in the interview, the enthusiasm of local students exceeded imagination. Among the more than 100 students from the School of Engineering, nearly 30 of them signed up to participate. Both in terms of professional foundation and Chinese proficiency, they are outstanding in the school, and the examiners from both schools have to choose the best one.
"I saw the desire in their eyes, and I really want to recruit everyone." This scene made Li Peigang think of the scene when the first batch of students were enrolled. A Laotian child talked about the reason why he wanted to study railway in China - because of the construction of the China Laos Railway in 2017, the first towering bridge pier appeared in his hometown. "My family said that we would never see the railway in our life".
In the golden autumn soon after, more than ten Laotian students will realize their dreams at Shangying University. Shanghai will also provide them with more support and assistance in their studies and daily lives, allowing them to adapt to the foreign environment as soon as possible and embark on a new journey in life.
Vientiane is the last stop of this trip to Laos. On July 23rd, teachers and students arrived at the station, and on the ceiling of the entrance and exit hall, the Laotian Champa flower was tightly connected to China. In the evening, Teacher Zhong visited the Laos Thailand Friendship Bridge on the Mekong River before his passing. This end of the bridge is Vientiane, Laos, and the other side is Langkai, Thailand. The 3.5-kilometer "meter gauge railway" connecting the two cities was once the only railway in Laos.
Cheng Lu, a senior student of Shangying University, was very impressed by the old diesel locomotive on the "meter gauge railway". In the future, the China Laos railway will connect with Thailand. From Kunming to Vientiane and then to Bangkok, a major railway artery running through the Indochina Peninsula will further promote connectivity in the region, and the "the Belt and Road" will also benefit the people along the line in the never-ending flow.
The good news is still ongoing. On July 25, the China Laos Railway implemented a new running chart, reducing the travel time from Vientiane to Kunming by one hour, which will make the travel between the two countries more convenient. For those Laotian students who are about to come to Shanghai, this railway and the series of "Fuxing" and "Lancang" high-speed trains on Mercedes Benz not only represent a decent job, but also a beautiful future within reach, as well as the enduring and unbreakable friendship between Laos and China.
Photo photographer: Cheng Lulu Boyuan
