The Nepal-China border point at Tatopani re-opened with fanfare on Friday after remaining shut for eight years and five months as it was knocked down by a massive earthquake.

Located 115 km northeast of Kathmandu, Tatopani is one of the oldest trade routes linking the two countries.

The formal re-opening of the border saw 200 locals of Sindhupalchok district crossing over to China from Nepal.

On the other side of the border, 120 Chinese dressed in traditional Tibetan attire arrived in Liping from Khasa, China to celebrate the re-opening for people-to-people connectivity.

The travellers holding passes crossed Miteri Bridge marking the frontier and were welcomed on both sides.

Sindhupalchok residents are optimistic that the once vibrant Tatopani business will return to its previous vigour.

Busloads of Nepalis, mostly from Kathmandu Valley, used to throng Khasa for shopping which was once a major shopping destination. Hotels and restaurants flourished along the highway.

But the 2015 earthquake put an end to all that, and traders started abandoning the Tatopani market giving the town a deserted look. The border had re-opened briefly on May 29, 2019 and then again on April 8, 2020 to allow medicines and health equipment from China to pass.

There are two key trade routes—Rasuwagadhi-Kerung and Tatopani-Zhangmu (also known as Khasa)—between Nepal and China.

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.

The Rasuwagadhi-Kerung customs point, located 190 km from Kathmandu, was used as an alternative route after the closure of the Tatopani-Khasa point in 2015, and it started to get more attention since then.

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

Rabindra Pokhrel, acting chief of Immigration Office Kodari, said 200 locals entered Chinese territory through the Tatopani border point.

For the inauguration function, 30 people were sent from Nepal’s side, including Madhav Sapkota, a member of parliament representing Sindhupalchok.

Pokhrel said that 227 people were able to get passes on the first day. A blue coloured pass was issued to enter China.

“The number of people coming to obtain passes is increasing,” said Pokhrel.

"The locals entered China at Miteri Bridge and returned after buying Chinese goods in Khasa,” Pokhrel said.

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.

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.

Traders are enthused by the announcement that transport companies would be facilitating shipments of goods from Chinese cities to Tatopani.

Currently, 15 shops are operating in Liping and five shops in Ramite and Khasa. The border hopping shoppers purchased clothes and household items on the first day.

Tatopani has bustled as a transit point from ancient times. Porters bought 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 wore a deserted look.

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 were 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 office, 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 on it.

Dayananda KC, chief of the Tatopani Customs Office and dry port, said that customs clearance would be done out of the old customs office.

"People’s movement has started. We will manage them by resuming another customs office in Liping immediately,” KC said.

"Locals and traders are very happy after the border was opened," said Raj Kumar Basnet, president of the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “We are optimistic that opening of the border for people will increase the district's business prospects like before.”

Before the earthquake, Nepali traders could visit business firms and other markets in certain areas of China and import up to 200 container-loads of goods per day.

Basnet said that after the construction of the necessary physical infrastructure in Khasa, the general public will get the same benefits as before.

As Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is scheduled to visit China on September 23, traders are hopeful that the Tatopani border point will be accorded top priority and will be operated without hindrance.