Nepal, China jointly announce new height of Mt. Everest / Mount Qomolangma
Travel Biz News —-
Kathmandu: A new height 8848.86 meters of Mount Everest/ Mount Qomolangma was jointly announced by Nepal and China from Kathmandu and Beijing at a special ceremony today.
Announcing the new height of Mount Qomolangma carries the significance of connecting the past and building the future, said Chinese President Xi Jinping, hailing it as signaling the high-level development of the bilateral relationship.
President Xi and his Nepalese counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari exchanged messages of congratulations on the occasion.
President Xi noted that Mount Qomolangma is an important symbol of friendship between the two countries from generation to generation.
On the occasion, Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China and P.K Gyawali, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal read out the messages of congratulations from the respective Presidents announcing the new height of Mount Sagarmatha/ Mount Qomolangma .
Nepal and China had agreed on the joint announcement of the height of Mount Everest/ Mount Qomolangma during the state visit of the President of China to Nepal in October 2019.
The widely accepted height of 8,848 meters was measured by India in 1954. The previous calculation by Chinese researchers from a 2005 survey stands at 8,844 meters, while Nepal said it was a little taller, at 8,848 meters.
The three-meter gap, to be closed in the upcoming announcement, was caused by the difference in measuring methods, with China calculating the “rock height” underneath the snow, while Nepal measured the “snow height” which included the snowcap , Global Times reports.
Earthquakes that took place in the nearby region have also affected the height of the mountain, experts noted. But the extent of the impact the 2015 Nepalese earthquake had on the mountain’s height, with its epicenter 200 kilometers away, has not been verified in the international community.
The Chinese measurement team made successful journey to the peak of Mount Qomolangma on May 27, following a joint statement signed in 2019 by the two countries saying they would conduct scientific research and reach a consensus on the stature of the mountain during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu.
According to Chinese media , 5G communication technology was used, with China’s telecom giant China Mobile and Huawei providing end-to-end solutions during their ascent. Many of China’s homegrown new technology applications, including the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System, were also adopted to ensure that the country’s latest trip to re-measure the height of Mt Qomolangma went smoothly.
Photo: Ministry of Natural Resources , China
Dec. 8 , 2020
