How are Thai durians transported to China?

Durians are widely popular in China, and Thailand is a major exporter of this fruit.

How exactly does the "king of fruits" make such a long voyage from Thai orchards to Chinese markets?

Tracing the 4,700-kilometer route, People's Daily reporters recently chronicled the week-long journey of a durian shipment, from Thailand to Laos, and finally to China, to find the answer.

On Sept. 17, a batch of durians was picked in the Chaiwat Orchard in Sawi district, Chumphon province, and departed from the country the next day. At 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, they set off from Vientiane, Laos, and entered the Mohan railway port in China's Yunnan province six hours later. They arrived in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province at 8 a.m. on the following day and were shipped to Beijing at noon. At 11 a.m., Sept. 24, these durians reached the Chinese capital.

Sept. 17

Location: Chaiwat Orchard in Sawi district, Chumphon province, Thailand

A worker picks durians in Sawi district, Chumphon province, Thailand. (People’s Daily/Sun Guangyong)

A worker named Wichai stood atop a durian tree that towered over ten meters in height. With a swing of his knife, a durian weighing several kilograms fell to the ground.

"A tree can bear 50 to 100 durians, and we have over 200 trees in the orchard. We have a nice income," said Chaiwat, owner of the orchard.

Chaiwat's orchard is located in a mountain pass. "I contracted the orchard to Chinese merchants, who give stable purchasing prices and timely payment. I don't need to worry about sales," said Chaiwat, adding that they are happy to see the popularity of Thai durians in China.

Chumphon province is located in southern Thailand, more than 400 kilometers from Bangkok. It is the largest durian planting area in southern Thailand.

Workers pick durians in Chaiwat Orchard in Sawi district, Chumphon province, Thailand. (People’s Daily/Sun Guangyong)

Sept. 18

Location: A durian sorting and packing plant in Chumphon province, Thailand

Workers sort durians at a sorting and packing plant in Chumphon province, Thailand. (People’s Daily/Sun Guangyong)

Zhang Bolun, who sources products for an online supermarket of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, opened a freshly harvested durian. He reminded Chaiwat that durians shall be harvested after they reach 85 percent maturity.

Zhang belongs to a group consisting of 20 professional buyers and quality check specialists. The group is stationed in Thailand to select quality fruits for consumers.

Chaiwat and his family drove a pickup truck to the Qiyu durian sorting and packing plant in Chumphon province. The plant can sort and pack nearly 80 tons of durians per night.

Every day, pickers can earn a few thousand Thai baht, packers 700 Thai baht ($19.26), and sorters 1,500 Thai baht.

"Most people think that durian sorting and processing rely mainly on experiences, but our plant emphasizes standardization to ensure the quality of durians," said Khundee, manager of the plant.

Sept. 21

Location: Loading yard of the Vientiane South Station, Laos

A container loaded with durians is being transferred from a meter-gauge railway to a standard gauge railway at a transshipment station of the Vientiane South Station, Laos, before being transported to China via the China-Laos Railway. (People's Daily/Sun Guangyong)

Durians were then sent to the loading yard of the Vientiane South Station, Laos, which is four kilometers away from the Lao-Thai border.

According to Song Zongbo, deputy director of the infrastructure department of Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., the yard was put into use in July 2022, and its annual handling capacity can reach 800,000 tons.

The Vientiane South Station is the largest commodity distribution center for local railway transportation. Many customers send goods by freight trucks to the station, and the goods will be loaded onto trains bound for China after train marshaling.

An employee at the station told People's Daily that the transportation of fruits demands a high level of timeliness, and durians stay freshest for up to 12 days after they are picked from the trees.

Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told People's Daily during an exclusive interview that the Laos-China Railway, as a modern transportation mode in Laos, has greatly accelerated the economic and social development of Laos.

Sept. 21

Location: Mohan railway port in Yunnan province, China

A refrigerated freight train passes through the China-Laos Railway Friendship Tunnel on the China-Laos Railway. (Photo/Xie Ming)

At 2 p.m., Sept. 21, People's Daily reporters arrived at the Friendship Tunnel of the China-Laos Railway. Cold-chain freight trains were seen driving out of the tunnel and entering the Mohan railway port.

Inspectors from the border checkpoint boarded the train to check passports and inspect the train. The Mohan railway port is the first national-level land port after the China-Laos Railway entered China's territory.

"Now customs clearance for China-Laos Railway freight trains is generally no more than 20 minutes," said Li Bing, a staff member at the Mohan border checkpoint.

A refrigerated freight train arrives at Mohan railway port on China's border with Laos after passing through the China-Laos Railway Friendship Tunnel on the China-Laos Railway. (People's Daily/Peng Xunwen)

The fruit inspection platform was divided into sections for imported fruit inspection, quarantine, cold storage, technical rooms and other functional areas. The temperature in the inspection area could be adjusted according to fruit types.

After inspection, this batch of durians was approved for release.

"We adopt an 'inspect-and-go' model to ensure zero delays for customs clearance of imported fruits," said Han Bin, head of the Mengla customs in Yunnan province.

Sept. 22

Location: Wangjiaying West Station of Kunming, Yunnan province, China

After a night's travel, the train arrived at the Wangjiaying West Station of Kunming at 8 a.m., Sept. 22, and was then pulled to the Kunming Central Station of China United International Rail Containers Co., Ltd.

About 1 hour later, the containers carrying the durians were transported out of the station.

Staff members inspect durians at the container yard of a logistics company in southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily/Peng Xunwen)

"We can realize 24-hour monitoring and remote control, so users can check the status of goods in real-time," said Yi Qiang, director of the cold-chain logistics department of China Railway Special Cargo Logistics Co., Ltd.

At 9:15 a.m., the durians were loaded onto a refrigerated truck.

The driver Wang Yong, 47, has been doing cold-chain transport for about a decade. He said that when driving a refrigerated truck, he needs to pay special attention to the temperature of the refrigeration unit.

Three hours later, Wang drove the durian-loaded truck towards Beijing.

Sept. 24

Location: A fresh warehouse in Tongzhou district, Beijing

A staff member checks durians at a warehouse of China's e-commerce giant JD.com in Tongzhou district, Beijing. (Photo/Yang Haoming)

After nearly 48 hours of driving, Wang arrived at the fresh warehouse No.2 of JD.com in Tongzhou district on Sept. 24.

Head of the warehouse Hao Beibei led the reporters to a "durian room" in the warehouse. The temperature in this room is strictly controlled between 5 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Once a customer places an order, the staff of JD.com will put the durians on a conveyor belt by a cart, and ship them out after registration and labeling.

Sept. 25

Location: Home of a consumer in Haidian district, Beijing

At 1 p.m., Sept. 25, the durians were shipped to a sorting warehouse in Daxing district, Beijing.

About two hours later, courier Hou Jiandong of JD.com got a box of durians from a conveyor belt at a courier station in Haidian district. Soon, Zang Heng, the purchaser of the durians, received the fruits from Hou.

Zang joined the construction of the China-Laos Railway between 2018 and 2022, and participated in the opening ceremony of the railway in December 2021 in Vientiane.

"It feels like all the efforts are worth it," said Zang, enjoying the durians.

(By Sun Guangyong, Yang Yi, Xu Lei, Yang Yifeng, Chen Zhenkai, Peng Xunwen, Liu Shaohua, Li Zhen, Ye Zi)