Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, east China - June 3, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Interview in progress
2. SOUNDBITE (Lao) Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee, Lao President:
"I still remember President Xi Jinping's speech when he attended the opening ceremony of the China-Laos Railway together with me on Dec. 3, 2021. He said that 'the mountain from Kunming to Vientiane is no longer high and the road no longer long.' The long journey between Laos and China has been shortened. The vision of the railway as a 'golden road' and 'silver road' has become a reality in Laos. This railway has comprehensively changed the face of our country. Laos has no sea, but now we have a railway leading to the sea. Laos had never had a railway before, but now we have the China-Laos Railway, which is a railway of fairly high-speed. This makes the people of Laos feel proud of, and it makes their dreams come true."

Yunnan Province, southwest China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Aerial shots of running train
4. Various of passengers on platform, queuing up to get on train

Vientiane, Laos - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Sign reading "Vientiane Railway Station"
6. Passengers entering station
7. Board showing train schedule
8. Various of train interior; passengers, train attendants
9. Various of train departing

The China-Laos Railway has greatly improved the face of Laos and brought long-held aspirations closer to fruition, said General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith.

Thongloun arrived in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday for a five-day visit.

In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), the visiting Lao top leader hailed the vital role of the China-Laos Railway in boosting the country's development.

"I still remember President Xi Jinping's speech when he attended the opening ceremony of the China-Laos Railway together with me on Dec. 3, 2021. He said that 'the mountain from Kunming to Vientiane is no longer high and the road no longer long.' The long journey between Laos and China has been shortened. The vision of the railway as a 'golden road' and 'silver road' has become a reality in Laos. This railway has comprehensively changed the face of our country. Laos has no sea, but now we have a railway leading to the sea. Laos had never had a railway before, but now we have the China-Laos Railway, which is a railway of fairly high-speed. This makes the people of Laos feel proud of, and it makes their dreams come true," said Thongloun.

The China-Laos Railway, with a total length of 1,035 kilometers, connects Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province with the Lao capital, Vientiane. It is the first overseas railway jointly constructed and operated by the two countries, adopting Chinese standards, and directly linking to China's railway network.

The railway has handled 73.38 million passenger trips since opening in December 2021, including more than 840,000 cross-border journeys, according to recent data from railway authorities.

Passenger demand on this railway has grown steadily. Monthly trips on the whole line have risen from about 600,000 in the early stage of operation to a peak of 2.25 million. On the Chinese section, daily passenger services have increased from eight to a peak of 86, while on the Laos section, these have risen from four to a peak of 18.

The route now operates four international passenger trains daily, with the fastest journey taking nine hours and 36 minutes.