Just a week ago, the Chinese carrier Sichuan Airlines made history by conducting a chartered flight at Pokhara International Airport, marking the first international flight in Pokhara. The flight was not only about launching an international route but also about establishing a business connection between China and the city of Pokhara. As an initial step in furthering business connections between the two countries, the Nepal-China International Dragon Boat Race Festival was organized in Pokhara recently. The festival took place over two days on Fewa Lake. All the passengers on the first international flight to Pokhara were participants and officials attending the Chinese cultural show. The Dragon Festival, a Chinese historical and cultural event, is held annually for three days based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. This year, the Nepal Tourism Board hosted the festival.

According to the Chinese Embassy, the boat race festival has been organized in nearly 50 countries, and this was the first time it took place in South Asia. The event involves rowing dragon boats on water, employing specific boating techniques. Sixty players with eight dragon boats participated in the game, including teams from China and Singapore. The Nepali players, who had trained for a week, competed against the experienced international teams from China and Singapore.

During the festival, various stalls were set up to showcase traditional Chinese cuisines. More than 3,000 visitors, including foreign tourists, gathered at Hallanchock on the shores of Fewa Lake to observe the boat race. According to local tourism entrepreneurs, around 500 tourists, with more than half of them from China, attended the event. “Almost all the hotels around the Lakeside were fully occupied during the festival,” said Pom Narayan Shrestha, the chairperson of the Pokhara Tourism Council. The Dragon Boat Race Festival was jointly organized by the Nepal Tourism Board, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, the Pokhara Metropolitan City, and several local organizations, including the Pokhara Tourism Council. Commenting on the event, Dharan Raj Acharya, the mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City, said the Chinese Embassy was very positive about assisting the local government in strengthening mutual welfare through further tourism initiatives. In the closing ceremony of the festival, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song presented the dragon boats brought from China for the festival as a gift to the Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City. Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Song said that China was willing to organize more such events and strengthen the cultural, social, and economic bond between China and the tourist city of Pokhara. Robin Sharma of the Nepal Tourism Board said that the Chinese Embassy covered more than half of the total expenses for organizing the boat festival. Excluding the cost of the chartered flight, boats, shipping charges, and accommodations for the nearly 300 Chinese guests, the estimated cost of the event was Rs 7m. “The actual expenditure will be three times higher if all the expenses borne by the Chinese Embassy are also included in the organizing cost,” he added. The Pokhara International Airport, built with China’s loan assistance, has been operational for a year but has not yet received any international flights. “The interest shown by the Chinese government to promote Pokhara will encourage international airlines to operate flights to Pokhara,” Ganesh Timilsina, the chairperson of the National Assembly, said. Timilsina said he held discussions with Chinese stakeholders on establishing direct flights between Pokhara and different Chinese cities. Bikram Gautam, the chief of the Pokhara International Airport, expressed optimism that the chartered flight and the important international cultural show in Pokhara have paved the way for stronger market ties with China. Informal discussions with Chinese stakeholders about starting flights to Pokhara are ongoing, he added.