On October 15, the “Discover the Most Beautiful Railways: Exploring a Century of Yunnan’s Railway Heritage” press tour visited Hekou North Railway Station, where the steady flow of Vietnamese passengers immediately caught the group’s attention.

With a series of favorable policies boosting China-Vietnam cross-border tourism, the tourism market at Hekou Port is thriving. Large numbers of Vietnamese visitors enter China through Hekou Port before taking trains to popular destinations such as Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. Colorful flags carried by travel agencies, fluttering on the platforms and in the waiting halls, have become a distinctive sight at Hekou North Railway Station.

Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture is located in southern Yunnan Province, bordering Wenshan to the east, Yuxi to the west and Vietnam to the south. With high-speed trains running directly to the border, it offers one of the most convenient routes into China for international visitors.

"From the Jiaozi Snow Mountain tours at the start of the year to the Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-La tours now, we serve two to three Vietnamese groups every day," said Tian Yuyang, a passenger service clerk at Hekou North Station. Every day at 1:30 p.m., Train C560, which originates at Hekou North, greets Vietnamese cross-border tour groups of various sizes. Inside the compact waiting room, Mandarin, local dialects and Vietnamese fill the air, bustling with the warmth of everyday life.

To keep pace with this new trend, the Kaiyuan Train Operation Depot of China Railway Kunming Group has seized the opportunity to grow passenger traffic and revenue. It has set up a coordination mechanism with local customs, border inspection authorities and travel agencies. Based on each group's size and arrival time, the depot also sets aside time for meals and connects groups with the station's specialty restaurants to ensure smooth service throughout.

"We Vietnamese groups love Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La — the scenery there is stunning. Vietnamese people really enjoy visiting these places, enjoy the views and learn about Chinese culture, history and customs. The staff at Honghe Station are wonderful too — they make us feel welcome and the procedures are very convenient," said Hoang Van Tien, a Vietnamese tour guide who has become a regular at Honghe Station. Every few days, he brings a group through the station, either heading north to transfer onto high-speed trains for Dali and Lijiang, or south to escort returning travelers safely home to Vietnam.

As many group members are elderly and all of whom travel with passports, Honghe Station has introduced tailored services including organizing queues in advance, additional manual ticket-check gates and dedicated staff to guide passengers to their trains, making their Chinese high-speed rail journey easier and more hassle-free.

To further improve services for Vietnamese travelers, the Kaiyuan Depot plans to put up bilingual guidance signs in restrooms, at water dispensers and in designated signage areas on the platforms at both Hekou North and Honghe stations, refining service quality down to the smallest detail.

From the start of this year through October 15, the Kaiyuan Train Operation Depot of China Railway Kunming Group has served a total of 96,000 passenger trips by Vietnamese tour groups. Since 2023, Vietnamese cross-border tourism has posted average annual growth of over 50 percent. Cross-border tour groups accompanied by colorful fluttering flags have emerged as a major new driving force in the railway transport market of southeast Yunnan.

10月15日，“发现最美铁路・探寻云南铁路百年风华”发现团来到河口北站，站内络绎不绝的越南籍旅客瞬间吸引了大家的目光。

随着中越跨境游政策持续利好，河口口岸跨境旅游市场呈现勃勃生机，大批越南籍旅客通过河口口岸入境，再乘坐动车前往昆明、大理、丽江等旅游胜地，摇曳在站台上、候车大厅里的旅行社各色队旗，成了河口北站的旅游新景。

红河哈尼族彝族自治州位于云南省南部，东接文山，西邻玉溪，南与越南社会主义共和国接壤，动车直达边境，是外籍游客进入中国最便捷的通道之一。

“从年初的轿子雪山团到现在的昆明、大理、丽江、香格里拉团，每天我们都服务2至3个越南旅行团。”田雨阳是河口北站客运员，每天中午13时30分，由河口北站始发的C560次动车组，都会迎来人数不等的越南跨境旅游团。不大的候车室里，普通话、地方方言和越南语汇聚一堂，熙熙攘攘，充满生活气息。

针对客运的新变化，中国铁路昆明局集团开远车务段抓住增运增收契机，与当地海关、边检、旅行社等建立联系协调机制，针对旅行团发团规模及到站时间，还为其规划预留了就餐服务时间，联系车站特色餐厅，共同做好旅行团服务保障工作。

“我们越南团队喜欢到大理、丽江、香格里拉等地，那几个地方都风景很好很漂亮，我们越南现在都非常喜欢到这里来玩，看看风景，了解一下中国的文化历史、风俗习惯。红河站服务人员也非常好，接待我们，办理手续的话非常方便。” 越南导游黄文进如今已成了红河站的“常客”，每隔几天，他就会带队来到红河站，或北上换乘高铁前往大理、丽江，或南下带领返程越南旅客安全归乡。

结合旅行团中老年团员较多，且均持护照的实际，红河站采取了提前组织排队、增开人工检票窗口、专人引导乘车等个性化服务，让越南旅行团的中国高铁之旅更轻松便捷。

据了解，为做好越南籍旅客服务，未来，开远车务段还将在河口北站、红河站卫生间、茶水机、站台标识区设置双语导览提示，在细节处持续提升服务品质。

今年以来，截至10月15日，国铁昆明局开远车务段累计服务越南旅游团9.6万人次，自2023年以来，实现越南跨境游年均增长50%以上，摇曳各色团旗的跨境旅游旅客，已成为滇东南铁路运输市场的一大新生力量。