China Speeds Up Railway That Will Cut Swathe Through Myanmar

China is accelerating construction of a strategic railway in western Yunnan that is eventually supposed to connect to Myanmar’s planned Mandalay–Muse line.

The 330‑km Dali–Ruili Railway—described by Chinese engineers as the world’s most difficult railway to build—is entering its final and most technically demanding phase.

The new push is a show of big-power confidence, defying conflict and instability on the Myanmar side of the frontier that threaten to stall the project for years to come.