In 2020, China's mountaineering team marched to Mount Everest again, measured the latest height of Mount Everest at 8848.86 meters, and jointly announced to the world a new record for the height of the top of the earth with Nepal. Many people may have read the report at that time and wondered, why did the data we measured be announced together with Nepal? In fact, this is related to the sovereignty of Mount Everest, and it also symbolizes the friendship between the two countries as always.
Mount Everest, or Everest for short, is the main peak of the Himalayas and has snow all year round. Since Mount Everest is the highest peak on Earth, it is also known as the "Third Pole of the World". Mount Everest is located at the junction of China and Nepal, the northern part is in the territory of Dingri County, Tibet (the western slope is in Tashi Zongxiang, Dingri County, and the eastern slope is in Qudang Township, Dingri County, with Everest Base Camp); the southern slope is located in the Khumbu region of Nepal. As early as the Kangxi Dynasty, the location of Mount Everest was marked on the "Imperial Public Opinion Map"; that is to say, the historical data of hundreds of years ago can prove that Mount Everest belonged to China at that time.
In 1955, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal, there were disputes over the boundary issue, mainly focusing on the sovereignty of Mount Everest. In 1953, Nepalese explorers had climbed mount Everest from the south slope, and China had not previously reached the summit. In view of this situation, Nepal did not agree to our proposal to own Everest together at that time. Since national sovereignty is at stake, our country certainly does not compromise and has decided to climb from the north slope (which is much more difficult than the south slope) that no one has ever tried. After all, it is not enough to have historical data, we must also have the record of our personnel climbing to the top, in order to have the weight of negotiation.
At that time, China was in ruins, whether it was mountaineering technology or mountaineering materials, it was a blank. Climbing Everest from the north slope is seen by the outside world as a "death route" with little possibility of success. At that time, the instructions given by the head were: "Chinese to fight for breath, you must climb up and win glory for China!" At that time, the preparatory period was full of difficulties, and the real challenge to Everest was at the end of March 1960. However, the division was unfavorable, encountered an ice storm, Peking University meteorological team member Shao Ziqing and others died at an altitude of 7300 meters, and more than 50 team members were seriously frostbitten.
After a break, on May 24, 1960, the Chinese mountaineering team selected four elites: Wang Fuzhou, Kampot, Liu Lianman, and Qu Yinhua, and decided to rush to the top again. After a period of difficult climbing, finally in the early morning of May 25, 1960 Beijing time, Wang Fuzhou, Kampot and Qu Yinhua successfully climbed Mount Everest from the north slope, creating a record for the first time in human history to reach the summit from the north slope. In order to let the team members climb the vertical ice peak, Liu Lianman was willing to be the "human bridge" of his teammates; and Qu Yinhua also chose to climb the snow wall barefoot in order to prevent slipping, and later lost his right index finger and all his toes.
After enduring all kinds of hardships and paying a terrible price, the China-Nepal Boundary Treaty was formally signed in 1961. Our country has shown great power arrogance and has reached a friendly agreement with Nepal: the sovereignty of Mount Everest is equally divided, and the south belongs to Nepal and the north belongs to china. The sovereignty issue of Mount Everest was satisfactorily resolved and became a symbol of Friendship between China and Nepal since then. In the 1960s, China's leaders also proposed that Mount Everest could be called "China-Nepal Friendship Peak".
Today, Mount Everest is peaceful, and many tourists who come to Shigatse in Tibet will choose to go to the Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5200 meters above sea level, look at this sacred world peak, and enjoy the sunrise and starry sky of Mount Everest. There are also outdoor enthusiasts who bring equipment to challenge the summit in groups. As of February 2020, a total of 4,469 people have successfully reached the summit 7,646 times, and the summit of Mount Everest is no longer out of reach.
However, in the arduous years, those Chinese mountaineers who have made unremitting efforts and sacrificed for the country, whether they have reached the top or not, deserve our eternal respect and remembrance.