Trade through quake-hit Gyirong port in Tibet surges

LHASA - The total value of trade at the border port of Gyirong in Tibet from January to October exceeded 2.35 billion yuan ($340 million), a 20-fold increase year on year, Lhasa Customs said Monday.

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, 2015, damaging and closing Zham port and Gyirong port. As a result, trade in Tibet fell to about 5.66 billion yuan in 2015, down 59.2 percent year on year, the Commerce Department of Tibet autonomous region said.

On Oct 13, 2015, Gyirong port reopened and China-Nepal trade recovered immediately.

New rail and road cargo services, linking Tibet with southern China's Guangdong, Northwest China's Lanzhou, and Nepal were launched in May and December, boosting trade with the South Asian neighbor.

Gyirong port now undertakes the trade function of Zham port, which used to clear about 90 percent of land-borne trade between China and Nepal before the earthquake.

According to the regional government, Gyirong port is expected to become a major route for trade between China and Nepal.