Lighting up the skies: Drones flying in the shape of the dragon over a theme park to celebrate the Year of the Dragon in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The opening of the new rail line cut the travel time from Nanning to Dongxing to approximately 70 minutes. — AP
Carrying several red bags full of Chinese specialty products, Nguyen Thuy Quynh is among the mass of passengers alighting from a train at a railway station in Dongxing, a city on the China-Vietnam border in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
“I can’t wait to see my relatives and friends,” said the 19-year-old Vietnamese student who is studying in Guilin, Guangxi province.
The Spring Festivals in China and Vietnam share many features in common.
People in both countries give and receive red envelopes and place couplets bearing good wishes on doors.
Most importantly, they have the same tradition of going home for family gatherings.
This year, thanks to the newly launched Fangchenggang-Dongxing high-speed railway, Nguyen’s journey home has become faster and more comfortable.
The city of Dongxing is an important gateway to Vietnam.
The opening of the new rail line cut the travel time from Nanning, capital of Guangxi, to Dongxing to approximately 70 minutes, providing a convenient transport option for the growing number of Vietnamese business people and foreign students in Guangxi.
For Nguyen, the journey home is no longer arduous.
In the past, Nguyen had to take a train to Nanning and then transfer to slow trains or buses to the border city of Pingxiang before reaching Vietnam.
“Now, after arriving in Dongxing by the high-speed railway, I just need to walk through the border and my parents will pick me up there, which is fast and convenient,” Nguyen said.
Hoang Thi Khanh Linh, a Vietnamese student studying at the Guangxi Minzu University in China, is another beneficiary of the railway.
“Thanks to the opening of the railway, it only takes about an hour to travel from my university to Dongxing, about two hours faster than before,” she said.
Statistics from China Railway’s Guangxi bureau show that more than 3,000 Vietnamese people have made trips via this railway since it first started operating on Dec 27.
The railway is an example of the boom in Guangxi’s infrastructure aimed at boosting the connectivity with Vietnam.
Nguyen said the closer ties between China and Vietnam are clear to see.
“I hope someday I will take a high-speed railway from China to my hometown.” — Xinhua
