在中老铁路客运列车上，有一款独特的“玫瑰咖啡特调”。它融合了老挝和云南的经典咖啡豆，搭配来自昆明的玫瑰鲜花酱，口感丰富，惊艳每一口。
老挝咖啡温润醇厚，不带酸味，花香回甘。云南咖啡则以清新的葡萄、柑橘果酸闻名。这杯咖啡，能不能送到你的心趴上呢？
中老铁路列车混合云南、老挝咖啡豆的现磨咖啡。图源：昆明铁路
中老铁路的风味饮品不只有咖啡。对于老挝啤酒中国总代理腾海琳来说，中老铁路也解决了玻璃瓶啤酒跨境运输的大问题，“早C晚A”的生活可以实现了。
Coffee is not the only Lao flavor along the China-Laos Railway. For Teng Hailin, main distributor of BeerLao in China, the railway has solved major issues with cross-border logistics.
腾海琳说，啤酒厂位于老挝首都万象附近，啤酒通过卡车运输至少要走四天才能到达中国口岸。而云南和老挝处于季风气候区，下雨天泥泞的公路让货运卡车说翻就翻。
Before the railway opened, BeerLao products transported from Vientiane to the border needed at least four days. During the rainy season the roads in mountainous Laos would be muddy and beer bottles were often damaged.
图源：中国日报
“过去，很多箱子都会被压坏，甚至有两次卡车在路上侧翻了。尤其是下雨时，篷布上的水多得能养鱼。现在，通过中老铁路，货物从万象到昆明，早上发车晚上就能到。然后，再通过昆明送到全国各地的超市货架。”
"Sometimes the trucks even overturned. Now, with the railway, we can transport goods directly from Vientiane to Kunming and distribute them to supermarkets in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," she said.
如今，漫步在昆明街头，老挝咖啡、老挝啤酒、老挝火锅，早已成为当地饮食的一部分。这正是昆明和万象这对友城通过互联互通，深刻体现友好交往的鲜活例证。
Lao coffee, beer, and hotpot have become a part of the city's dining scene thanks to the railway link, underlying the growing friendship between the two cities, which established their sister-cities relationship in 2011.
图源：中国日报
2011年，老挝首都万象与云南省会昆明建立友好城市关系。2021年12月，北起中国昆明，南至老挝万象，全长1035公里的中老铁路货运列车正式通车运营。也是在2021年，联合国大会通过关于老挝2026年脱离最不发达国家行列的决议。
The China-Laos Railway opened in 2021, running 1,035 kilometers from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, China, to Vientiane, the Lao capital. Also in 2021, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution paving the way for Laos to leave its Least Developed Country list by 2026.
要知道，老挝是东南亚唯一的内陆国，四面被中、柬、越、泰、缅五国环抱。在中南半岛这片地方，其他的国家个个都有海岸线，唯独老挝没有。
Laos is the only inland country in Southeast Asia, surrounded by China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
中老铁路对于老挝民众来说不仅是一辆普通的高铁，而是从“陆锁国”变“陆联国”，“盘活”中南半岛、改变老挝历史的大事件。
For the people of Laos, the China-Laos Railway is more than just a high-speed rail line. It's a game changer, turning Laos from a "landlocked" nation into one that is "land-linked", marking a historic shift for the country.
图源：中新网
老挝万象人王伟的命运与中老铁路息息相关。2019年，中老铁路开通时，她拍摄了一段体验Vlog，视频瞬间火爆。“我的粉丝大部分是老挝和泰国人，视频浏览量高达108万。要知道，老挝的总人口不到800万！”
Khamphilom Vannaphone, a young woman in Vientiane, filmed a video of the trip and posted it on the internet when the China-Laos Railway officially opened on Dec 3, 2021, sparking a wave of interest in traveling to China by train.
"The video drew 1.08 million views and don't forget that the population of Laos is less than 8 million," Vannaphone said. "I received a lot of comments by people from Laos and Thailand."
老挝国立大学中文系主任宋莎努介绍说，自中老铁路开通以来，该校中文专业的招生人数暴增。2021年，该校中文专业本计划招收60人，实际报考人数却高达2953人。中文成为老挝学生最热衷的学科。
Saonakhone Thongmixay, director of Chinese-language studies at the National University of Laos in Vientiane, said in 2021, when the railway opened, that the university had 60 students enrolled in its Chinese-language program — out of 2,953 applicants. Chinese-language has become one of the most popular subjects among students.
2024年5月16日，北京，对外经济贸易大学举办第二十届国际青年文化节。三名身穿老挝传统服饰的女生在老挝展台前合影。图源：视觉中国
老挝万象市委书记阿努帕·杜纳隆向记者表示，老挝鼓励更多年轻人学习中文，为他们提供更多赴中国攻读学位的机会。
Anouphab Tounalom, party secretary of Vientiane, said Laos has encouraged more young people to learn Chinese and seize opportunities to pursue higher education in China.
“语言学习将促进经贸往来、旅游合作，增进中老友好城市间的深厚情谊，实现我们友好城市好邻居、好伙伴、好朋友、好同志的目标。”
"Language and education are the bridges in promoting economic, trade and tourism collaboration that bring our two cities closer as good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners," he said.
今年11月，昆明和万象携手成立了中老铁路城市联盟，旨在通过互联互通，推动两国及沿线地区的共同发展。
Last month Kunming and Vientiane set up a 10-city alliance that aims to improve the development of the sister cities and regions along the China-Laos Railway through better transportation connectivity.
中老铁路万象站。图源：央视新闻
这个春节，不妨搭乘中老铁路，去老挝走一走！清晨从昆明出发，喂饱滇池的红嘴鸥，傍晚抵达万象，探索这座“佛系”国家的神秘庙宇。
沿途春意盎然，昆明与万象，也正携手书写更多美丽的故事。
记者：侯晨晨 李映青
编辑：侯晨晨 郭静雯