The Empowerers | Laos on the Move

In a turbulent world, what can bring greater certainty to development? China offers a decisive response.

A railway cuts through the mountains and forests of Laos, helping transform the country from landlocked to land-linked. Along the way, it has also created relationships between Chinese mentors and young Lao railway workers that extend well beyond the tracks themselves.

With training and support from their Chinese colleagues, young Lao workers have grown from newcomers into skilled professionals, taking on greater responsibility and, in turn, passing what they have learned to others.

As Dok Champa blossoms and young trees grow into shade, skills once brought from China are being passed on locally. With each handover, they are becoming part of a future that Laos is increasingly able to build and sustain for itself.