<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67e49c7e80680e0599ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1365" height="2048"/><figcaption>Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi posted pictures of herself on social media on New Year's eve to promote Nepal tourism among the Chinese. Photo: AMBASSADOR HOU YANQI/TWITTER</figcaption></figure>When Nepal chose famous Chinese actress Xu Qing to be its Goodwill Ambassador to promote Visit Nepal Year 2020 in China, she did not need much convincing. She was already in love with Nepal.“My heart was racing when I saw the breathtaking view of the Annapurna range,” she gushed in a Weibo post from Pokhara, “This is the life I yearn for.”Xu posted photos of herself posing in front of Machapuchre, boating on Phewa Lake, wearing a marigold garland, and taking selfies with smiling local children. Those images and videos went to 17 million of the actress’ followers on Chinese social media.Xu Qing, who starred in her first film in 1990, has won numerous awards in the past 30 years. Many of her roles are deeply rooted in the hearts of people, which makes her hugely popular on social media. Her account on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform in China, has more than 17 million followers.“It was a wise decision for Nepal to choose her as an influencer to promote tourism from China,” says <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/chinese-ink-wash-paintings-in-Nepal,2622">Chinese art curator Justin Zhao</a> who has lived in Nepal for seven years, and founded the Himalayan Light Art Award. “Next door China is the biggest potential market for tourism development in Nepal, and the number of Chinese tourists to Nepal is growing rapidly.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67e79c7e80680e059a00jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67eb9c7e80680e059a01jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67ee9c7e80680e059a02jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi has also been projecting China’s soft power in Nepal through her social media feeds to promote Visit Nepal 2020. In a Tweet on new year’s eve on Tuesday, she posted pictures of herself modelling in Patan Darbar Square and wrote: ‘True beauty always touches the deep heart. Beautiful Nepal with history, diversity and nature deserves a visit. Wish #VisitNepal2020 successful!’ And she tagged Nepal’s Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai.From January to October 2019, there were 134,281 Chinese tourists in Nepal, up nearly 10% for the same period last year. Chinese visitors account for nearly 14% of arrivals by nationality, second only to India. Numbers started going up in 2011 after Nepal announced <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-chinese-are-coming/">free visas for Chinese nationals</a>.“Chinese Buddhists and those who enjoy adventure sports are the two most common types of Chinese tourists in Nepal,” notes Wang Ziping, who runs a restaurant in Pokhara. Indeed, many of the visitors have nothing but praise for Nepal’s natural beauty and its friendly people.‘Although Nepal is poor, it is the happiest country in the world. You can actually see the real smiles on people's faces and feel their inner comfort. I taste a bit of my dream life here,” noted one visitor on an online post.Adds another: ‘In the southern slopes of the Himalaya, you can see the cultural diversity of South Asia. People of different religious faiths live in peace here. They understand each other and develop together.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f19c7e80680e059a03jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="511"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f39c7e80680e059a04jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="178"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f59c7e80680e059a05jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="203"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f79c7e80680e059a06jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="292">There are also negative comments, and deal mostly with poor infrastructure and the high airfares. Says restauranteur Wang: “Air tickets to Nepal are too expensive. The price in the peak season is more than double to similar destinations. If the price of air tickets can be reduced to about the same as that of flying to Thailand, more people would love to come.”With a target of two million tourists in 2020, entrepreneurs have made efforts <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/Chinese-tourists-on-the-rise-in-nepal,2088">targeting potential Chinese visitors</a>, but many say that unless the infrastructure bottlenecks like airports and highways are fixed it will be difficult to meet the target even if the volume of Chinese tourists reaches 500,000 this year.But here in Pokhara, restaurants, hotels and paragliding companies are gearing up for the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18432#.XgmHydIza70">influx of Chinese tourists</a>. At Lakeside restaurant <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/number-of-Chinese-tourists-growing-in-nepal,1917">menus are in Chinese, as are shop signs</a>.  Shopkeepers do their part by calling out “Ni hao” to welcome any Chinese-looking person.“We have Mandarin courses so our staff can communicate with Chinese tourists,” says Prakritee Gurung, manager at Shangri-La Village Resort. Across town at Fishtail Lodge, nearly half the 24,000 guests in 2019 were Chinese tourists.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f99c7e80680e059a07jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="965" height="912">Nepal is getting ready for the first tri-nation Nepal-India-China Expo (NICE) 21-24 Feburary for joint tourism promotion. Nepal is strategically placed to be the tourism go-between for the two Asian giants.Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who have been lobbying for decades to have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/">Pokhara International Airport</a> built are excited that it will finally open next year, and there will be direct flights between Chinese cities and Pokhara, bypassing Kathmandu.Pokhara became famous in China after the popular television serial Deng Feng Lai (Up in the Wind) was filmed on location here where the two protagonists took <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19255#.XgmF09Iza70">a paragliding flight</a>. Since then, many young Chinese have flocked to Pokhara.For Wang Ziping it was love at first sight with Pokhara. He came on a visit, and never left, deciding to open the Pokhara Restaurant on Lakeside. He says: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c32WjMV3InY">Pokhara International Airport</a> is about to be finished and there will be more Chinese tourists flying directly here. I am sure business will pick up.”

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Chinese tourist influx to Nepal in 2020

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fba9c7e80680e056e45jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1730" height="978"/><figcaption>President Xi's arrival at Kathmandu Airport and the guard of honour was covered live by all major networks.</figcaption></figure>Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday for a two-day state visit. His Nepali counterpart president Bidya Devi Bhandari greeted Xi as he got off his plane. Vice-president Nanda Bahadur Pun and prime minister KP Oli, among other top-level ministers and officials, Welcomed him at the VVIP terminal at the airport where he received the Guard of Honour by the Nepal Army.Xi is scheduled to meet president Bhandari and chairperson of the main opposition Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba separately before attending a reception for his welcome. He is also scheduled to meet Nepal Communist Party co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Sunday morning.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-is-xi-jinpings-big-surprise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is Xi Jinping's 'Big Surprise'?</a>, Saindra Rai and Irtika Bajracharya<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-flight-disruptions-on-weekend/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathmandu flights disruption on weekends</a>Before his departure, Xi will conduct a high-level meeting with PM Oli and hold bilateral talks. This is the first state visit by a Chinese President to Nepal after Jing Zemin’s visit in 1996. Xi is expected to sign a dozen bilateral agreements.The primary features of the draft agreement with China could include:<ul><li>Upgrading the Rasuwagadi checkpoint and road to Kathmandu.</li> <li>Repairs at the Tatopani checkpoint and road to Kathmandu.</li> <li>Construction of the Tokha-Chahare Tunnel.</li> <li>Setting up of the Madan Bhandari University.</li> <li>The Kosi Corridor highway to Kimathanka</li> <li>The Kali Gandaki Corridor to Korala</li> <li>Improvement in the Karnali Corridor to Hilsa</li></ul>Photos by Monika Deupala, Bikram Rai and DOI Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fbd9c7e80680e056e46jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><figcaption>A 747 Air China aircraft carrying Chinese president Xi Jingping arrives in Kathmandu.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fc29c7e80680e056e47jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"><figcaption>President Bidya Devi Bhandari welcomes Chinese Pesident Xi Jinping at Kathmandu airport.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fc59c7e80680e056e48jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fc89c7e80680e056e49jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1618" height="1080"><figcaption>Panchakanya welcome Xi.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fcb9c7e80680e056e4ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fd09c7e80680e056e4bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fd59c7e80680e056e4cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"><figcaption>President Xi receives the Guard of Honour by the Nepal Army.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fd89c7e80680e056e4djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"><figcaption>Prime Minister KP Oli and Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun welcome Xi.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fdc9c7e80680e056e4ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"><figcaption>Traditional dancers wait for their turn as Xi arrives in Kathmandu.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fdf9c7e80680e056e4fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fe39c7e80680e056e50jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2106" height="1404"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fe69c7e80680e056e51jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2106" height="1404"><figcaption>Government officers welcome Xi outside Kathmandu airport.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fe99c7e80680e056e52jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5fed9c7e80680e056e53jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2592" height="1728"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141156/636a5ff09c7e80680e056e54jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2592" height="1728"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141156/636a5ff49c7e80680e056e55jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141156/636a5ff79c7e80680e056e56jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141156/636a5ffb9c7e80680e056e57jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Xi signs visitor's book at Shital Niwas.</figcaption></figure>Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/kathmandu-gets-a-facelift/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathmandu gets a facelift</a>, Ass<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/what-china-really-wants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What China really wants</a>, Editorial

President Xi in Kathmandu

<img width="1400" height="933" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101136/636a23419c7e80680e0417d9jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Kung fu, paper decoration and calligraphy – those are the classes management student Prakash Nepali is attending these days in this southern Chinese city. The reason: He is interested in computer programming, but he cannot do hands on practice because there is only one PC in the lab and the professor uses it for his powerpoint for the class.Nepali has been studying logistics management with a full scholarship in China’s Yunnan University since 2017 and gets $360 a month from the Chinese government to cover his living expenses. It sounds like a good deal, but Nepali says he would not recommend it to others back home.As bilateral trade and investment increase, there is growing interest among Nepali students to study in China. In 2017 alone, more than 6,400 Nepalis flew over the Himalaya to the north for their higher studies. They were attracted by the chance to learn Mandarin as well as government scholarships. But not everything is what they expected.  “I’ve forgotten why I came here. I got into a study program not relevant to the trade business that I want to be involved in when I get back,” Nepali told us. Bishwash Shrestha and Nepali have been friends since high school. They applied for the same college together by paying $4,000 to an education agent. They are the only two Nepalis in the Silk Road Program of Yunnan University. “Everything is ok here, except we end up having to teach ourselves. The level of instruction is not what we expected,” says Shrestha. Nepali had 11 compulsory courses in his first semester last year. Besides main courses such as management, microeconomics, mathematics, he had to take eight other intensive courses introducing Chinese language, art, and policy. All the subjects are taught in English, but the two say the Chinese professor’s English is not even as good as theirs and it is difficult to understand. They say the syllabus lacks focus, and even their teachers in Nepal had better motivation.  Another Nepali student, Pawan Gole, however, has no complaints. He is satisfied with his studies and in two years, speaks Mandarin fluently. He says, “Of course, you have to work hard, if I don’t I would lose face in front of my classmates who work hard.”   <img width="1400" height="1163" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101136/636a23449c7e80680e0417dajpeg.jpg" alt="">Feeling optimistic about his future, Gole has given up the thought of going back to be a Chinese teacher. He thinks he has a better career as a Mandarin interpreter as Chinese investment and trade with Nepal grows. Babu Ram Paudel is also doing well, and has been at Yunnan University for three years and is now a post-doctoral fellow in biology. His paper on Himalayan biodiversity was printed in the journal Evolution last year.Outside of class, Gole has Chinese friends, but other students say they do not mix much with their local classmates. “Maybe people ignore me because I look Chinese,” jokes Suman Pradhan, another student at Yunnan University. Most Nepali students here hang out with international students from 12 countries, cooking with Thai classmates and Pradhan says he can speak Bengali because he spends so much time with his Bangladeshi friends in Kunming. A week after the interviews in Kunming, the students are moving on. Nepali is excited that he does not have to take calligraphy and kung fu classes next semester. Gole is travelling to Beijing for Chinese New Year, Shrestha and Pradhan have returned to Nepal for winter holidays with suitcases full of presents for relatives and friends.We ask Nepali on WeChat how it is going. He replies with an emoji that means ‘hard to say’.  When Bala Ram Aryal first started teaching Nepali language in 1988, there were six other teachers, but only one foreign student. This year there are more than 300 foreign students learning Nepali in Tribhuvan University’s foreign Language Campus.Similarly in 2017 only one university in China had a Nepali language department. This year, three more universities are teaching Nepali to Chinese students.Nepali Times reached out to three students who study Nepali in China, and all said they chose the major following suggestions from their families.Wei Lin, the only Nepali professor at the Communication University in Beijing, says: “Most of my students don’t know what they want to do in future, and I tried to convince them that there is potential in learning Nepali.”Qunyuan Zhao is a handicraft worker who does not even speak English but wants to settle down in Nepal and open a business.“I found a Nepali language book and found the rules were simple. Now, I can read street signs even though I don’t know what they mean,” says Zhao after five months of learning Nepali. He plans to finish the 6-semester program at Tribhuvan University and move his family to Kathmandu and give his children a more international education.Xiaoli Liu has never been to Nepal, but is passionate about learning Nepali. When Nepali Times gave her a call last week, she was in the library preparing for her final exams in Nepali.“I enjoy learning new languages and Nepali was so exotic for me because so few foreigners can speak it,” she said.Xiaoli admits that when she was admitted to the Communication University two years ago, her mind went blank. “I knew nothing about Nepal and the Devnagari letters looked more like drawings than characters, ” she recalls. Now, Xiaoli can fluently communicate in Nepali and will come to Kathmandu for an exchange program next year. <figure><img width="1400" height="933" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101136/636a23479c7e80680e0417dbjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Not everyone is like Liu and Zhao whose study coincides with their interests. Most students learn it for other reasons. Aryal says most of his students enroll because they need visas for long-term stay in Nepal. Many never show up in class after the first semester.Most Chinese people study Nepali because they need it for their businesses. Huan Wang quit her job in China and started a building material business in Kathmandu three years ago. She uses her Nepali language to build trust with her Nepali business partner to show that she has long-term plans to stay in Nepal, and this gives him the confidence to cooperate with her.Chinese professor Lin attributed the increase in interest in Nepali language to China’s belt Road Initiative: “Under the initiative, there will be more Chinese projects in Nepal and this means there is more interest in learning Nepali.”Yiwei Wang, Lin’s student, says her relatives used to ask her why she was learning a “useless” language. She says her seniors found good jobs in big companies because they spoke Nepali, and she wants to do the same.Meanwhile, in Nepal there is also greater interest in learning Chinese because of the prospect of higher studies in China, and the increasing number of Chinese tourists and investors coming to Nepal.Sumit Tuladhar has been studying Mandarin for one month at a monastery in Kathmandu, and says he wants to work in tourism, where he thinks knowledge of Chinese will help him. Tuladhar’s friends are also learning Chinese now for higher studies or business in China.

Why Nepalis are learning Mandarin, and Chinese are learning Nepali

mainNavigation

footerNavigation

opinionSubnav

nepal-china

Chinese tourist influx to Nepal in 2020

President Xi in Kathmandu

Why Nepalis are learning Mandarin, and Chinese are learning Nepali