The Nepal-China border point has been closed since the 2015 earthquake destroyed the infrastructure.

The Tatopani-Khasa trade route re-opened for cargo movement in May, but passenger movement remained barred. 

Beijing has agreed to allow passenger movement between China and Nepal through the Tatopani border point from Friday.

Nepali and Chinese officials met in Lhasa, Tibet on Tuesday and decided to remove the travel restrictions that had been in place since 2015 when an earthquake destroyed the infrastructure at the border. Cargo movement resumed last May.

Tatopani lies some 115 km northeast of Kathmandu on the Nepal-China border. Tatopani is the starting point of the legendary caravan route to Lhasa, and it has been the main land route for trade with China since a highway linking Kathmandu opened in 1967.

“Today, I had a meeting with DDG Liu Lin, FAO TAR to discuss matters including the resumption of passenger movement from the Tatopani border point. We both agreed to resume passenger movement through this point from 1st September 2023,” Navaraj Dhakal, consul general of Nepal in Lhasa, wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

Rabindra Pokhrel, acting chief of the Immigration Office Kodari, said that Nepali and Chinese officials held meetings on three different occasions regarding the opening of the border to travellers.

“We are yet to receive a formal letter on opening the border point. But we have been directed by the Nepal government to start preparations for passenger movement from September 1,” Pokhrel said.

The immigration office said that they had made all the preparations including manpower, logistics and other support for the resumption of passenger movement.

“Passenger movement will be two-way,” Pokhrel said. "Locals of Sindhupalchok will be given a one-year pass to cross the border into China as per the latest notice received by the office."

On March 15, Beijing allowed its citizens to travel to Nepal as tourists after more than three years. Before the earthquake, nearly 30,000 Chinese tourists used to enter Nepal through the Tatopani border point. Local traders were also allowed to travel to Tibet for business.

The Tatopani-Khasa trade route re-opened for cargo movement in May, but passenger movement remained barred.

“The border re-opened, but there has been no exports through Tatopani since the first consignment was sent on May 1,” said Dayananda KC, chief of the Tatopani Customs Office, Larcha, Sindhupalchok.

According to KC, freight movement through Tatopani has also not improved, as there are only around seven freight movements daily.

"No tax is levied on exports dispatched through the Rasuwa-Kerung border point further west. But exports through Tatopani are taxed," he said.

Traders and suppliers like Silk, Rewang and Rising Star, who were hopeful about the resumption of hassle-free trade through Tatopani, are now gradually moving to Kerung.

Before the April 2015 earthquakes, Nepal’s exports to China were booming. Nepal used to dispatch handicrafts, herbs, noodles and hundreds of other goods to Khasa, Shigatse and Lhasa in Tibet.

“We hope that trade will improve once passenger movement resumes,” said KC.

As Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is scheduled to visit China in September, traders are hopeful that the Tatopani border point will be accorded top priority.

Dahal is scheduled to fly to China directly from New York on September 22 after addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on the agenda of the prime minister’s China visit and has started consultations with various line ministries.

Tatopani has bustled as a transit point from ancient times. Porters brought merchandise from Kathmandu which was transferred to mule caravans and transported over the Himalayan passes to various points in Tibet.

After the 2015 earthquake turned the border point into rubble, Tatopani and nearby places like Liping Bazaar became deserted.

On the Chinese side of the border, the infrastructure was soon rebuilt. But little work was done on the Nepal side, and visitors to Tatopani are surprised by the poor state of the infrastructure.

Apart from Miteri bridge and Tatopani dry port built by a Chinese company, all other essential structures like immigration, gates and security posts on the Nepal side are in a dilapidated condition.

The final 26-km stretch of Kodari highway to the border is yet to be repaired, and traders say it is dangerous to drive goods-laden containers over it.