(Re)constructing state power and livelihoods through the Laos-China Railway project

•The Lao-China Railway shapes power relations between various segments of the state.•Land compensation offers a pathway to trace how power relations are (re)produced.•Centralized compensation rules serve as the government’s means to expand its power.•Farm households have diverse perceptions of large infrastructure development.•These perceptions are (re)shaped by their (in)ability to adapt their livelihoods.