Built by the Chinese government and completed in l966, the 115-kilometer Sino-Nepal Highway is a lasting symbol of Nepal-China Friendship. The highway is also known as Sino-Nepal Friendship Highway or Araniko Highway, symbolizing of the friendly relations between the two neighboring countries, promoting not just trade but also people-to- people contact.
The highway, which ends at the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge, links up with China National Highway towards Lhasa. The Sino-Nepal Highway is the only land route that connects
Kathmandu to Tibet. It was built on the legendary and difficult caravan route from the capital of Nepal to Tibet used by travelers and traders during ancient times.
Traders from Kathmandu sold food items, handicrafts and spices to Tibet while Tibetans sold salt and gold to Nepal.
The highway not only connects Kathmandu to Tibet but also several villages that lay across the route in the northeastern part of Nepal.
Aside from its economic benefits, the highway also made a big impact on the people of Nepal, touching and even changing their lives for the better.
Robin Tamang remembers that when he was young, he used to walk for days from their village in Bhakunde to reach the capital city of Kathmandu, some 47 kilometers away. Tamang, who is 54 years old, said that during that time, they did not realize the importance of a road because they believed that it was how the world was supposed to be.
"We used to think that our capital city was very far from us and the world around us was so big," Tamang said.
Tamang said that after the highway was built, the lives of the villagers changed in more than ways that they can imagine.
"Now, I don't feel that Kathmandu is far from my home. I can go to the capital and come back in just one day." Tamang said.
The highway has also changed the lives of people in some other villagers which have since become municipalities, such as Banepa, Dhulikhel and Panauti which lay along the highway.
Because of the road link between Nepal and China through the Autonomous Region in Tibet, the volume of trade between the two countries have increased through the years. In 2011, Nepal's trade with Tibet increased by over 90 per cent.
The trade between the two countries by January of 2011 had been valued at 60 million US dollars, according to reports from the Tibet Customs Office. Tibet's entire foreign trade in the same period was recorded at 87.6 million US dollars.
Although in the past, there were frequent disruptions along the route due to landslides and other natural calamities, the two countries have undertaken measures to lessen these incidents.
As a natural consequence, lands situated along the highway have appreciated in value.
And since the highway passes through beautiful landscapes, such as magnificent rivers and scenic gorges, it has contributed a lot to Nepal's robust tourism industry. In fact, most of the adventure sports enthusiasts and nature lovers among the foreign tourists usually take the route.
The highway was named after the 13th century Nepalese master of Buddhist art and architecture Araniko or Anige, who hailed from Nepal but had an immense contribution in the Buddhist architecture of China.
.jpg "Tibetan Local Travel Agency")
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