Laotian student Wang Wei uses the lens to tell the story of China and Laos - along the China-Laos Railway to the life of longing

Wang Wei (left) and Young Chinese plant trees in the square in front of Mohan Station. The 60 phoenix trees planted by the youth of China and Laos symbolize the "fiery youth" and symbolize that the deep friendship between the two countries will continue in the young generation. Courtesy of Wang Wei

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What does a high-speed rail mean? Is it the preferred mode of transportation when you go home, or your favorite way to get around when you go out with friends... For Wang Wei, a 30-year-old Laotian student, the high-speed rail carries not only a way home, but also guards her mother's wishes and her own ideals.

Follow me (meaning "Please follow my lens" – reporter's note). Wang Wei in front of the camera held a stabilizer and excitedly told what he saw and heard in English in front of the camera. She is streaming live through social platforms to introduce her life in China to friends in her hometown.

Wang Wei is a Laotian student from Kunming University. Without the China-Laos Railway, she might not have come to China to study. She is 30 years old this year, two years ago, because she learned that the China-Laos railway was about to open, she had already graduated from a university in Laos, and went to Study in China at the suggestion of her mother. "Mom feels that this is a good opportunity, and she believes that after the opening of the China-Laos railway, it will definitely drive the development of tourism."

Wang Wei came to China with her younger brother and sister, who studied trade management at Yunnan Normal University. For Wang Wei and his younger siblings, this is not only their mother's wish, but also a choice that has changed their future destiny.

After Wang Wei came to China, he began making videos and posting them on his social media accounts. Not long ago, in the "Celebration of the Opening of the Whole China-Laos Railway Line Youth Tour", as one of the youth representatives, she took the China-Laos Railway EMU that she had in mind and shared what she saw and heard with the people in her hometown through video.

When she first came to China, Wang Wei Chinese, but this could not stop her enthusiasm for exploring this land. Two months before arriving in Yunnan, Wang Wei went to Dali and Lijiang alone. Because she can't say Chinese, when she needs to ask for directions, she can only use gestures to compare, hands and feet and use them, and someone can always understand her meaning. In the eyes of this Lao girl, "Chinese is good, they will help me." However, this experience also made Wang Wei realize that the language barrier was something he had to overcome.

When she first arrived in China, Wang Wei had not yet met too many Chinese friends, and the housekeeper aunt in the school dormitory had become her "enlightenment mentor" for learning Chinese. "At that time, I took online classes in the dormitory every day, and the one who could easily communicate was the aunt of the dormitory, and I took the initiative to greet them, and they taught me to say Chinese."

In order to learn Chinese well, Wang Wei read and practiced by himself in the dormitory every day, listening to Chinese recording for 4 hours a day, from not knowing a word of Chinese to being able to say "what is your name", "Have you eaten", "Where to go". Up to now, two years have passed, Wang Wei passed the Chinese proficiency level five exam, will do some calligraphy, and she sent her works to video software to share with netizens.

The girl who originally came to China to fulfill her mother's wish also had her own dream, and she wanted to let people who did not know China see what the real China looked like through her own video. "Let Laotians understand Chinese culture, and let Chinese see the beautiful places of Laos."

"Why can you travel around China?" "When can I go to China?" "What preparations do you need to do if you want to go to school in China?" "How to travel to China on the old-China high-speed railway..." She has been asked countless times in the past two years. Especially after the opening of the China-Laos Railway, she specially released a video of herself shooting at Kunming Station. Since then, her number of followers has soared, and the number of people who leave messages for her has expanded from Laos to countries such as Thailand and Vietnam.

Wang Wei is now a Facebook blogger with 30,000 followers. She has a longer-term goal, she wants to open a travel company in China, dedicated to the development of tourism between China and Laos. "I hope to do it slowly, and when the epidemic is over, the people who watch my videos may become my guests."

On December 3, 2021, the China-Laos Railway was opened for operation. For the youth of the two countries, the China-Laos railway has built a road of shared opportunities. With the in-depth development of transportation integration, the youth of the two countries will have more valuable opportunities for pragmatic cooperation and joint development. More and more middle-aged and old-aged young people like Wang Wei will take this train to the life they yearn for.

China Youth Daily, china youth network trainee reporter Cheng Si Liu Yuxi Source: China Youth Daily

Source: China Youth Daily