Revisiting history

This is not the first time advanced technologies have appeared in the skies above Lao people.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, beginning in 1964, during the Vietnam War, the United States dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos. By April 1973, Laos had become one of the most heavily bombed countries per capita in history.

Roughly 30 percent of the bombs failed to detonate on impact, remaining buried beneath the soil. According to official statistics, more than 20,000 people in Laos have been killed by unexploded ordnance since the war ended, and over 30,000 have been disabled. To date, less than 1 percent of contaminated land in Laos has been fully cleared. At the current pace, it will take at least another 100 years to remove all unexploded ordnance, according to international organizations.

The repercussions of war continue to weigh heavily on the country's development. Farmers cannot safely cultivate their land. The construction of schools, factories, roads and power grids faces persistent risks.

Today, Lao people are working to build a modern power grid on land once scarred by bombing. The first step in planning the 500-kilovolt transmission line was not engineering, but clearance.

Xie said the clearance work extended beyond the planned route. Based on the transmission corridor, crews expanded the scope to clear a 70-meter-wide path along the 32.5 kilometers of line in Laos, covering a far larger area than initially projected.

"Clearance must be completed before any grid construction begins, otherwise survey and construction workers would face life-threatening risks," Xie said. "Local residents will live here for generations, so in principle, all newly built access roads are also cleared. This is not only about ensuring the safety of the project, but safeguarding the lives of local communities."

Conditions in northern Laos are relatively better, but in one tower site in Xiangkhouang Province, he said, workers still uncovered 20 unexploded bombs.

For Xie, the project carries a personal resonance. The transmission line largely follows Laos' Route 13, the country's main north-south artery.

In the 1960s, tens of thousands of Chinese engineering corps members came to Laos to help build 822 kilometers of road under the threat of US bombing — what is now the northern section of Route 13.

Near a substation in Oudomxay Province along the project route, a cemetery still stands in memory of those Chinese workers who lost their lives.

Xie's father was among those who helped build the road decades ago. From roads to power lines — from ground to grid — Xie now traces his father's path, continuing a story of connection between the two countries.

April 25 marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Laos, a year both countries have designated as the year of friendship. On Monday, officials from both sides attended the commissioning ceremony for the 500-kilovolt interconnection project.

Fang Hong, China's ambassador to Laos, said the two countries have stood by each other and advanced together over the past 65 years. The new grid project, she said, is another landmark effort following the China-Laos Railway — a "green energy highway" running from north to south.