Nathu La Pass

[Fanling Monk]

Nathu La Pass is a mountain pass in the Himalayas. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The pass, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft) above mean sea level, forms a part of an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road. Nathu means "listening ears" and La means "pass" in Tibetan.[1] On the Indian side, the pass is 54 km (34 mi) east of Gangtok, the capital of Indian state of Sikkim on JN Marg and only citizens of India can visit the pass, that too after obtaining a permit in Gangtok.

Nathu La is one of the three open trading border posts between China and India; the other two are Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh (or Lipulech) in Uttarakhand.

The Pass was re-opened in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements. The opening of the pass was expected to bolster the economy of the region and play a key role in the growing Sino-Indian trade but that has not happened. Currently, agreements between the two nations limit trade across the pass to 29 types of goods from India and 15 from the Chinese side. The opening also shortens the travel distance to important Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the region.

Nathu La Pass in black

Looking at India


http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii629/Daibaan/d6e378cb.jpg

Border marker in Chinese side.

A trading post is being build and expand

Indian and Chinese solders at the Pass

 

[Fanling Monk]

reopen after 44 years

A town in Tibet, 52km from the Pass

Congratulations! The Pass is officially open.

Grand Opening

 

[third eye]

Once a week or so mail bags are also exchanged at this post.

I recall witnessing one event.

 

[Fanling Monk]

Used to be one of The Silk Road for thousands of years

Another trading post

A retail merchant at the Pass

Major works in progress

 

[Fanling Monk]

Cutting ribbons

A road leading to the pass

Winding road viewed from the Pass

One of a merchant, Bank of China, at the Pass

 

[Fanling Monk]

One of a check point

Another check point

Post office building

Soldiers without arms

 

[Fanling Monk]

Jesus, it's cold out there.

It's raining, let call a cab.

Hold on to me, I think I'm going to faint

Hey buddy it's not easy to make a buck, isn't it?

 

[Fanling Monk]

Where all these people come from?

I wonder who's coming?

Something for free?

Coming attraction?

 

[Rig Vedic]

The Nathu-La route is closed for 6 months in a year because of snow. The approach road is quite precarious, especially on the Indian side where it has to go through very steep mountains. There is a need to open the Stillwell road from North-East India to Kunming in Yunnan province.

It should be possible to make a 4 lane highway plus a double track freight train line along that route.

But containerships may still be the cheapest way to move goods - a single ship can accommodate about 14,000 twenty-foot containers, and may take about 3 or 4 days to travel from Hong Kong to Indian ports like Kolkata or Chennai.

 

[Shardul.....the lion]

Thanks fanling for the photos.

 

[cloud_9]

The cable system, with an initial capacity of 20G, is connected through Tibetto India. The terrestrial cable is co-built by China Telecom and Reliance, and carries DWDM and SDH transmission. The total cable capacity design is 4.8 Terabits, which is thousands times more than what had been the existing bandwidth between China and India.

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Nice thread OP

 

[Fanling Monk]

Gandi and Nehru circa 1958

Narendra Modi visits

Chinese and India soldiers. The Infosys girl?

Alice Kandell posing with guards.

 

[Fanling Monk]

International border, indeed.

The more trade the better.

Entering China

Watch it! These kids are hustlers.

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

Nice thread "Fanling Monk"

And i request Indian members to contribute too.

Keep posting the pics.