NANNING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- On the night of April 10, a cross-border freight train departed from the Nanning International Railway Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, carrying a cargo of electronics and industrial parts destined for Southeast Asia.
The train, a central link in the China-Vietnam railway network, left at midnight for the 14-hour journey south. The shipment arrived the following afternoon at Yen Vien station, a sprawling rail terminal on the northern outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam's capital.
The route, which began with no more than five trips in a month in 2017, has since matured into a critical trade artery, moving Chinese machinery to Vietnamese factories and fresh produce back north.
Over the past decade, Chinese rail authorities have steadily upgraded this rail corridor into a modern logistical backbone, using increased train frequency and streamlined customs clearance to shorten transit times.
Statistics reflect an explosion in demand. In 2025, freight trains originating from Guangxi dispatched 37,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to Vietnam, a year-on-year jump of 86 percent, a new record, according to railway data.
The variety of cargo has also diversified, expanding from a handful of basic commodities to 455 product categories, including high-end circuit boards and specialized steel plates. Over the course of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, rail exports from Guangxi to Vietnam grew over sixfold compared to the previous five-year cycle.
A gain in efficiency has also played a big role in this surge in trade. In 2025, the China Railway Nanning Group Co., Ltd. scaled up hauling capacity on the Pingxiang-Dong Dang segment, boosting border throughput by 30 percent. With Nanning Customs now offering round-the-clock clearance by appointment, the weekly schedule has been expanded, raising the number of trains from three to 14.
At the Nanning International Railway Port, a new freight consolidation system which allows multiple vendors to "pool" shipments, has become a major draw for small and medium-sized enterprises. The practice has reportedly slashed shipping costs for foodstuffs by approximately 400 yuan (about 58.3 U.S. dollars) per container.
"The trains are punctual and cost-effective, exactly what we need for our exports to ASEAN," said Zou Desong, deputy general manager of Guangxi Guitong Sinotrans Customs Clearance Co., Ltd. His company witnessed a 180-percent rise in container volume last year.
Beyond freight, the resumption of passenger services in May 2025 after the pandemic restored a vital cultural and tourism link.
Official data show that since its resumption, more than 25,000 travelers have crossed the border via this service, with passengers including Vietnamese students and European backpackers.
For Zong Jianhui, a Chinese businessman who regularly shuttles between Nanning and Hanoi, the overnight sleeper is now his preferred choice.
"If I drive across the Youyiguan Pass in the city of Pingxiang, the whole day is lost to exhaustion," Zong said. "On this train, I leave Nanning in the evening, sleep through the border, and step off in Hanoi ready for afternoon meetings."
The appeal is also environmental for some. Lise Dubos, a French traveler, chose the route to minimize her carbon footprint. "It's much less polluting than flying," she noted. "We're excited to see Vietnam this way. It feels like a proper journey."
According to rail authorities, a new longer-haul sleeper service now connects Beijing to Hanoi. Passengers board in the Chinese capital on Thursday or Sunday afternoons, change trains in Nanning, and wake up in Vietnam, a laid-back overland alternative to crowded flights that has quietly gained popularity among budget-conscious business travelers and families.
This rail corridor also plays a key role in the grand national strategy. For China, the corridor serves as a southern spoke of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor, linking inland Chinese provinces to ASEAN markets.
For Vietnam, the corridor has already driven down freight costs and tightened the link between its northern manufacturing zones and global supply chains, with ongoing standard-gauge rail upgrades set to further increase connectivity.
Guangxi, China's only provincial-level region with both land and sea borders with ASEAN, has positioned itself as a logistical hub.
Nanning, the autonomous region's capital city, operates 17 cargo routes from its airport to Southeast Asia, while its rail port serves as a collection point for goods from 25 Chinese provinces. In 2025, the city's foreign trade hit 104.4 billion yuan, driven largely by high-tech exports, according to official data.
From running just once a week as a trial service to operating daily trips carrying various types of cargo, this rail route on the frontier has become a concrete sign of how two economies and their people are growing more connected. Enditem
