Performers dancing the Tashi Sholpa, a Tibetan opera dance for good luck. (Photo : Reuters)
Authorities have expanded the China-Nepal border located in Jilung County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, according to the Global Times.
The move is an effort to enhance the economic relations and tourism exchange between the two places, according to officials.
According to Dong Mingjun, vice chairman of the Tibet regional government, the expansion will allow for the improvement of business relations between Nepal and the region while also letting tourists from the two places to enter via the port.
Between January and October, trade made through the port was at 28.93 million yuan ($4.7 million), accounting for a 660-percent growth from the prior year.
Meanwhile, last year's trade between Nepal and Tibet, which has been the South Asian country's biggest trade partner since 2006, made up 58.5 percent of the region's total volume of import and export, according to customs officials in Lhasa, the region's capital.
Recent development work done on the Jilung border port, which has been operating since 1978, has yielded trade opportunities for the town locals.
"I started business last year to buy biscuits and instant noodles from Nepal and sell them in Lhasa and Shigatse. I hope to expand my business in the next two or three years and open a shop in the town," said local resident Basang.
Among the infrastructure projects recently finished is a bridge that connects Jilung to Rasuwa in Nepal.
Customs officials in Lhasa, meanwhile, are cooperating with Jilung officials to set up an economic cooperation zone at the port.
