China - February 22, 2025 As the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush ended on Saturday, the China-Laos Railway reported the busiest Spring Festival travel rush since it opened for service in December 2021. The China-Laos Railway, which connects Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with the Lao capital Vientiane, is making cross-border travel faster, more affordable, and more efficient. During the 40-day travel rush, the Mohan railway port, a key hub of the China-Laos Railway in Yunnan Province, has seen around 42,000 inbound and outbound passenger trips, a 49 percent year-on-year increase, according to the Mohan Border Inspection Station. In addition to the ordinary Spring Festival peak, multiple factors have been stimulating travelers to visit, including China's free visa policy for group tourists visiting the Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, as well as the successful application of the Spring Festival for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in the past year. Compared to last year's statistics, the number of foreign travelers visiting China via the China-Laos Railway has increased by over 36 percent. To facilitate global travelers, local customs introduced multiple measures to expedite border inspection capacity and ensure smooth travel. "We have opened special passes timely, allocated more manpower and strengthened our cooperation and synchronization with customs, railway, and other departments, to ensure smooth border checks during the Spring Festival travel rush," said Xie Tianyunjie, a policewoman from the Mohan Border Inspection Station. The video shows: Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwest China - Feb 22, 2025 1. Various of travelers getting off train 2. Various of travelers passing border check 3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xie Tianyunjie, policewoman, Mohan Border Inspection Station (starting with shot 2): "We have opened special passes timely, allocated more manpower and strengthened our cooperation and synchronization with customs, railway, and other departments, to ensure smooth border checks during the Spring Festival travel rush." 4. Various of travelers passing border check Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwest China - Recent 5. Various of foreign travelers passing border check, customs polices guiding Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwest China - Feb 22, 2025 6. Various of visitors leaving station; trilingual poster in tunnel reading "Welcome to China" [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]