KUNMING — Yunnan province in Southwest China on Sept 30 opened the country's second expressway linking Laos to traffic.

The 49-km expressway is in the Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, connecting the Mengla county and Mengman, a land port on the China-Laos border, according to the transport bureau in Xishuangbanna.

The railway began construction in October 2017 and was completed on Sept 25 this year. It involves a total investment of 5.6 billion yuan ($826 million).

Previously, the Xiaomengyang-Mohan expressway, also in Yunnan province, linked the two countries on the Chinese side of the border. Yunnan is the only Chinese province that shares the land border with Laos.

Local authorities said the new expressway would improve the highway network in the region and go a long way to boosting trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).