A Spring Festival-themed cultural celebration unfolded aboard a high-speed train on the China–Laos Railway on Wednesday, turning the four-hour journey from Kunming, south China, to the border town of Mohan into a moving showcase of friendship and cultural exchange.

Artists from ethnic groups along the route filled the carriages with traditional music, folk dances and creative performances, offering passengers an immersive festive experience. A Wa performer shared that their group played a folk tune “passed down for generations”, while a Dai artist explained a blessing ritual using a silver bowl and water to wish friends well. For Yi performer Xi Yuanyuan, it was “my first time experiencing something like this on a train”, describing the event as rich, interactive and even livestreamed.

Connecting Kunming with Vientiane since 2021, the railway has become a vital link for travel and livelihoods. As China and Laos mark 65 years of diplomatic relations, the celebration highlighted the railway’s role as a bridge for cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and shared prosperity, ahead of the Year of the Horse Spring Festival on 17 February.

Source: China Central Television