Travelers from both countries can now depart in the evening and arrive the next morning, literally sleeping their way across the border.

The boom in cross-border travel extends beyond the railway. Data from the Dongxing checkpoint in Guangxi shows that from Feb 15 to 23, over 139,000 people passed through the port. The third to fifth days of the Chinese New Year holiday saw a peak in arrivals of Vietnamese family groups and tour parties, with nearly 4,000 tourists entering China as part of almost 400 tour groups.

The influx of visitors has energized businesses on the Chinese side of the border. The Saigon Cafe, located in the Dongxing Border Gate Scenic Area, was fully booked throughout the holiday. "We set up special photo spots with Vietnamese elements and introduced folk song and dance performances for the New Year, which proved very popular with tourists," said store manager Lu Shaoyuan.