Nepal has an embassy in Beijing, consulate general offices in Hong Kong and Lhasa, and an honorary consulate in Shanghai.

The consulate general of Nepal in Hong Kong collected Rs 125 million (issuing 38,680 visas) in the last fiscal year. Total revenue raised by the consulate general, including visa fees and other services, stood Rs 231.6 million — up 122 percent.

More than 80 percent of the visas issued from Hong Kong were for mainland Chinese. People from Yunnan and Sichuan, among other provinces, apply for visa from Hong Kong due to close proximity. In the previous year, the number of visas issued was 24,126. The Nepali Embassy in Beijing and honorary consulate in Shanghai raised a combined Rs 125 million. Of the total collection, visa fee contributed Rs 87.4 million. The collection from Shanghai stood at Rs 35.6 million. Beijing and Shanghai offices issued 27,350 visas last fiscal.

Ram Prasad Subedi, consular at Nepal Embassy in Beijing, said Shanghai is the largest revenue contributor among the honorary consulate offices of Nepal across the world.

Similarly, Lhasa-based consulate general collected Rs 109.6 million in revenue last fiscal. It issued 43,955 visas, compared to the previous year’s 26,433.

Although Chinese can obtain on-arrival visa in Nepal, many prefer acquiring the visas at home due to language problems, according to the embassy.

The diplomatic offices in China earn revenue from passport issuance, document verification and other services. Passport issuance and service charges had nominal contribution to the revenue earned by Beijing and Lhasa offices. But the Hong Kong-based office earned Rs 92.6 million by issuing passports to Nepalis residing there. Nepal’s plan to completely shift to machine-readable passport by 2015 helped increase revenue collection from passport issuance in Hong Kong. Chinese arrivals to Nepal crossed the 100,000 mark last year, reaching an all-time high of 113,173, largely due to improved air connectivity between Nepal and China, according to recent Tourism Ministry statistics.

The official figures showed air arrivals jumped 55.3 percent to 62,616, while the number of overland travelers surged 44.7 percent to 50,557. Arrivals from China in 2012 amounted to 71,861. Around 93 percent of the Chinese tourists were first-time visitors to Nepal.

Nepal has witnessed a constant growth in Chinese arrivals since June 2009. Although Nepal had been given the Approved Destination Status (ADS) by the northern neighbor in 2002, the number of Chinese tourists was nominal. Nepal first participated in the China International Travel Fair in 2000 to promote Nepal’s tourism.

The two countries signed an initial memorandum of understanding on an implementation plan for outbound travel by Chinese travelers to Nepal in April 16, 2001 laying the groundwork for the ADS.

In 2002, the China National Tourism Administration granted the ADS to Nepal, and in June the same year, Chinese citizens began visiting Nepal officially for the first time as tourists. Before 2000, Chinese visitors were allowed to travel to Nepal only on official visits.