{"id":"bc09536c-db61-4fe1-9917-fc3460e9a5f9","name":"Kunming to Vientiane on the China–Laos Railway","slug":"kunming-vientiane-railway","links":{"human_path":"/experiences/kunming-vientiane-railway","machine_capability":"experience.get"},"media":[{"role":"hero","license":"CC BY-SA 2.0","alt_text":"China–Laos Railway train crossing the Mekong River north of Luang Prabang.","position":1,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"Photo: Julia Denton-Barker — CC BY-SA 2.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0","ai_generated":false,"external_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/China-Laos_train%2C_going_over_the_Mekong_river_north_of_Luang_Prabang%2C_Laos.jpg","rights_owner":"Julia Denton-Barker","storage_path":"experience-media/support/wave3/kunming-vientiane-railway-0b501ff319.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-13T00:00:00+00:00"},{"role":"gallery","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","alt_text":"A Laos–China Railway train on the Kunming to Vientiane route.","position":3,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"Photo: Dominik Landwehr — CC BY-SA 4.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","ai_generated":false,"external_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Laos-China-Railway.jpg","rights_owner":"Dominik Landwehr","storage_path":"experience-media/hero/expansion1/kunming-vientiane-railway-004f3519d7.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-12T18:19:38.437+00:00"},{"role":"gallery","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","alt_text":"Kunming to Vientiane on the China–Laos Railway: Lao China Railway first class","position":3,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"Photo: Jpatokal — CC BY-SA 4.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","ai_generated":false,"external_url":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Lao_China_Railway_first_class.jpg/3840px-Lao_China_Railway_first_class.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","rights_owner":"Jpatokal","storage_path":"experience-media/support/wave3/kunming-vientiane-railway-93b70db7e8.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-13T00:00:00+00:00"}],"route":{"name":"D87/D88: Kunming South–Vientiane","slug":"kunming-vientiane-railway-primary","stops":[{"lat":24.8318,"lon":102.7147,"name":"Kunming South","role":"origin","country":"China","sequence":1,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":24.32,"lon":102.6675,"name":"Yuxi East","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":2,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":22.792,"lon":100.98,"name":"Pu'er","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":3,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":21.9723,"lon":100.796,"name":"Xishuangbanna","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":4,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":21.472,"lon":101.5195,"name":"Mohan","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":5,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":21.478,"lon":101.585,"name":"Boten","role":"via","country":"Laos","sequence":6,"country_code":"LA"},{"lat":19.885,"lon":102.159,"name":"Luang Prabang","role":"via","country":"Laos","sequence":7,"country_code":"LA"},{"lat":18.928,"lon":102.447,"name":"Vang Vieng","role":"via","country":"Laos","sequence":8,"country_code":"LA"},{"lat":17.964,"lon":102.632,"name":"Vientiane","role":"destination","country":"Laos","sequence":9,"country_code":"LA"}],"direction":"Kunming → Vientiane","journey_id":"d0d6b9ff-d890-4cf5-881f-8dcfe255ecdb","distance_km":995,"geometry_semantics":"representative_stops; no exact track geometry implied"},"operator":{"name":"China State Railway Group (China Railway)","slug":"china-state-railway-group-china-railway","official_url":"https://www.12306.cn/"},"countries":[{"iso2":"CN","name":"China","slug":"china"},{"iso2":"LA","name":"Laos","slug":"laos"}],"editorial":{"tagline":"Yunnan to the Mekong on a brand-new cross-border railway","why_take_it":"Before this line existed, getting from southern China to Vientiane meant days on mountain roads; now it is a single daytime train. The railway is almost entirely tunnel and viaduct through the mountains of Yunnan and northern Laos, and the windows between them give you tea terraces, the Mekong tributaries, karst hills and finally the flat country around Vientiane. Luang Prabang is the natural break in the journey. Border formalities happen at Mohan and Boten, so allow time and carry your passport ready.","short_summary":"The D87 and D88 services run between Kunming South and Vientiane on the China–Laos Railway, a 995-kilometre route opened to through passengers in April 2023 and covered in around nine and a half hours. 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