In order to develop the types of transportation business and facilitate the safe and efficient transportation of goods by the people along the line, from February 20 this year, the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the operation of the Laos section of the China-Laos Railway, has cooperated with Laos Hong Arun Express Company to open railway express transportation business in the Laos section. A reporter from the People's Daily came to Laos a few days ago to follow the K12 train of the China-Laos Railway that shipped the express delivery, recording the whole process of the package being sent from the express station to the recipient's receipt, and feeling the changes brought by this railway to the life and economic development of the Lao people.
"Rail transport is smoother, more convenient and faster"
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the reporter came to the Hong Arun Express Company in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, where motorcycles came and went at the door of the express delivery station, and local residents who came to send and receive express delivery came in and out. The staff is busy scanning, weighing, and sorting the parcels delivered that day, preparing to transport them to the distribution and transfer center in the evening.
At a courier station in Vientiane, Laos, staff check receipt information with customers who come to pick up their shipments. Photo by Yang Yi
At around 5 p.m., the reporter met the Laotian girl Kaimani who came to send the mail. Kemani runs a small rice processing factory in Vientiane, using locally produced rice in Laos to make specialty snacks such as rice pastry, which are sold in offline stores and webcasts. "Rice crisp is our specialty snack here, and I hope more people will taste it and learn more about Lao food culture. Talking about the original intention of starting the business, Kemani said, "In order to meet different needs, we have made a variety of flavors such as dark chocolate, white chocolate, lemon, etc., and our products are purchased by Lao people and tourists from all over the world. ”
Among the packages sent by Kemani that day were several boxes of rice cakes destined for Muang Sai, the capital of Oudomxay province in northern Laos. Mong Sai city is about 500 kilometers from Vientiane, and these rice cakes will arrive the next day on the K12 train from Vientiane to Boten.
According to Si Song Peng, marketing director of Hong Arun Express Company, Laos express transportation is mainly by road, but due to the relatively backward local infrastructure, the northern mountain roads are relatively bumpy, and natural disasters such as landslides and mudslides often occur in the rainy season, and the transportation timeliness and integrity of the goods are difficult to guarantee. Considering the fragile nature of rice cakes and the fear of squeezing, Kaimani decided to use the China-Laos railway transportation. "Rail transportation is smoother, more convenient and faster, and customers in the northern region of Laos can receive express delivery the next day they place an order. "The opening of the Laos-China railway has played an important role in promoting the economic development of Laos, deepening the economic, trade, commercial and personnel exchanges between Laos and China. ”
At present, Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. has opened Vientiane to Boten K12 train and Boten to Vientiane K11 train to undertake express transport business, express companies can contract the corresponding space according to the need, express stops include Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Muang Sai, Nadui, Boten, etc., shipping categories include clothing, cosmetics, electronic products, food, etc.
"Rail transport has made the turnover of goods faster, and my income has increased accordingly"
At 8 o'clock in the morning of the next day, in the square in front of Vientiane Station of the Lao-China Railway, the staff of Hong Alun Express Company unloaded the express delivery that planned to take the K12 train to Mengxai, Nadui and Boding stations that day from the truck and pushed it into the station for security check. "Every day, we pick out the goods that are planned to take the next day's train, report to the relevant railway departments and stations, and the next morning the company's staff will transport the goods to the station, and place them neatly in the designated position in the carriage, and two staff will follow the car, dock with the railway staff, and then send the goods to each stop. Si Song Peng introduced. On the day the reporter followed the car, Hong Alun Express Company contracted a total of 4 cabins (that is, 4 rows of seats) and shipped 18 cargo boxes.
The staff of the Lao Hong Arun Express Company transported the express to Vientiane Station, ready to take the China-Laos Railway train to the northern city of Mon Sai. Photo by Sun Guangyong
At 9:10, the train departed on time and left Vientiane Station. At 13:23, the train arrived at Mengsai Station on time. At the station, 8 containers were handed over to the staff of Hongalun Express Company in Mengsai, and these couriers will be sent to the local distribution and transfer center and then distributed to the corresponding express delivery and receiving station.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the rice cake sent by Kemani to Mengsai was successfully delivered to the hands of Duansuni, a citizen of Mengsai, less than 24 hours before the delivery time. Duan Suni told reporters: "I bought these rice cakes with the intention of forwarding them to China and giving them to my teachers when I was studying in China. Duan Suni graduated from Zunyi Medical University in Guizhou Province, China, with a degree in Clinical Medicine, and is now a pediatrician at Oudomxai Provincial Hospital. Not long ago, she had just taken a cross-border train on the China-Laos Railway to Pu'er in Yunnan, China, and had previously taken her grandmother to China by train to see a doctor. "This railway has made our lives much easier. Duan Suni said.
After picking up the package at a nearby express delivery station, Duan Suni invited the reporter to her home to sit down. As soon as I opened the door, hundreds of neatly packed slippers were stacked at the door, "This is also the one who just arrived today, it is my sister's purchase from China, there are six or seven hundred pairs, all of which have been booked by Laotian buyers." Duan Suni said to reporters with a smile.
Duansuni's sister Pushadi also speaks fluent Chinese. After graduating from Yunnan University of Finance and Economics in China, she returned to her hometown to do business for 7 years. "I post the product pictures and basic information on social networking sites, and those who need it will leave a message in the comment area, and I will buy it according to my needs. Pushadi told reporters that most of his goods come from Guangzhou, China, "In the past, it has always been transported by car, and it takes more than a week to get from the place of shipment in China to Mengsai, but now it only takes about 5 days by train." Rail transport has made the turnover of goods faster, and my income has increased accordingly. ”
"The opening of railway express business will promote the development of e-commerce in Laos"
According to the latest statistics, 769 boxes and more than 17,000 pieces of goods were shipped by the K11 and K12 trains. According to the Laos-China Railway Company, at present, in addition to a courier company in Hong Alun to carry out railway express transportation business, there are two or three Laos express companies have entered the stage of cooperation and signing.
The railway express business has further facilitated the daily life of the Lao people and is expected to promote the development of e-commerce business in Laos in the future. Si Songpeng studied at Beijing Language and Culture University and the University of International Business and Economics in China. She told reporters that she was impressed by China's courier service when she was in school. "Every day, there are a lot of express parcels delivered at the school gate, and Chinese students often buy online from various platforms, which I think is very novel. Si Song Phong said that she thought at the time, when can Laos also develop express delivery business, "I didn't expect that in just a few years, Laos's express delivery took the Laos-China railway train, this railway changed our lives."
On the wall facing the gate of the Vientiane Express station, Chinese signs such as "China Aid" and "E-commerce Convenience Service Point" are very eye-catching. "This is a project of China's assistance to Laos, and we are still training our employees, and when it is officially put into operation, Chinese customers can buy our agricultural products through e-commerce platforms, and then we will deliver them. Si Songpong said. At present, Hong Arun Express Company has more than 600 express delivery stations in Laos, covering all provinces (cities) and counties in Laos, and the logistics network has gradually improved, and has the foundation for the development of e-commerce.
At the end of January this year, the completion and acceptance meeting of the China-aided Laos rural e-commerce platform project was held in Vientiane. The project aims to help Laos build rural e-commerce platforms such as basic information resources and public service platforms for agricultural products and convenient service points for rural e-commerce, train Lao government officials, manufacturers and related enterprises, and provide technical support for Laos to introduce e-commerce related management measures.
"Laos currently does not have an e-commerce platform, most of the people's online shopping through social platforms or live webcasts, express delivery is also a new thing for the Lao people, I believe that the opening of the Laos-China railway express business will promote the development of e-commerce in Laos. Si Song Peng said.
(Wen Yonghua also contributed to this article)
Editors: Dai Kairan, Liu Hui
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