While many young people from Upper Mustang have sought better opportunities abroad, a different story is unfolding high in the Himalayas—at the Korala Pass, where local entrepreneurship is taking root near the barren no man’s land between Nepal and China.
Since the reopening of the Nepal-China border crossing at Korala on November 13, 2023, a group of determined traders from nearby villages such as Choser and Lomanthang has been quietly reviving the economy in this high-altitude frontier. At 4,610 meters above sea level, a dozen or so local traders have set up makeshift stalls and restaurants under tarpaulin tents—braving the cold winds and harsh landscape to serve domestic and foreign visitors.
“We’ve started a small business movement here,” said Pasang Bangdi, a young trader from Lomanthang-2 Choser. “We sell both Nepali and Chinese goods, and even offer breakfast, tea, and coffee to tourists who make the journey to the Korala border.”
According to Pasang, the trading day starts as early as sunrise, with vendors setting up shop and preparing food for visitors. At day’s end, all goods are carefully packed and stored to protect them from the elements.
Lakpachesung Gurung, another trader from Choser, explained the daily hustle involved in cross-border trading. “Every morning at 9 a.m., I cross into Ligche, China—just 300 meters from no man’s land—with my border pass. I buy goods and return by 2 p.m. Everything has to be carried by hand.”
Although he notes that most young people from his village have migrated abroad, Gurung chose to stay back and run a shop. His small stall generates a daily turnover of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000, yielding a profit of about Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. “Business is decent,” he said. “Tourist numbers have also started to rise.”
However, the opportunity comes with a fair share of challenges. Winters are harsh, forcing traders like Gurung to relocate temporarily to places like Pokhara. Worse still, despite the border being open, customs restrictions prohibit the transport of commercial goods beyond household use. “We can’t take goods further down from here,” Gurung said. “The customs office blocks us. I stay here just hoping to earn a few money by selling goods.”
The physical conditions are no less taxing. The thin air and intense sun at high altitude have caused health issues among both traders and tourists. Gurung noted that some visitors have even fallen ill due to heatstroke. He emphasized the lack of basic infrastructure such as clean drinking water, reliable toilets, and waste management systems at the Korala border.
“There are toilets, but they’re temporary and built properly. Tourists throw trash everywhere, and it’s hard for us to manage the waste. The area smells and gets polluted.”
Ironically, while the Chinese side has provided clean drinking water for its traders, Nepali vendors still lack this basic facility.
Although over 3,000 border passes have been issued for Upper Mustang residents, trade remains tightly restricted. The border was reopened only for household shopping, not commercial trade, according to Lomanthang-2 Ward Chairman Karmanamgyal Gurung. “Some people have lost their livelihoods because customs won’t allow them to bring in goods for sale,” he said. “Just opening the border is not enough. The government must build infrastructure to support customs operations and ease imports and exports.”
Karmamtuk Gurung, a small trader from Thingar, Lomanthang-3, echoed this frustration. Although Korala reopened after four years of closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, traders say support from the government has been minimal. In fact, the Nhechung Customs Office has stopped collecting customs revenue since last December—just a year after the border reopened.
A recent incident has further strained relations. A resident of Upper Mustang was caught smuggling a large quantity of electronic cigarettes (vapes) from China. The Mustang police intervened, and the customs office launched an investigation into the unauthorized trade.
For now, the traders at Korala carry on, operating under tarpaulins in freezing winds, serving tea and selling Chinese noodles, hoping for a future where local enterprise gets the backing it deserves. -- RSS
