The work of laying tracks for a railway linking Southwest China's Yunnan province with Vientiane in Laos started in Yunnan on Tuesday, preparing for the whole line's operation at the end of next year.

The railway's section in China starts at Yuxi city in Yunnan and runs to Mohan, on the border with Laos, while the part in Laos begins from Boten to Laos' capital, Vientiane. Mohan and Boten are next to each other.

The 508-km section in China, with a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour, is expected to be put into operation by the end of next year, the same time with the part in Laos.

The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos’ strategy to develop from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.