#Article Launch Challenge# Before reading this article, we sincerely invite you to click the "Follow" button, so that you can continue to push such articles in the future, and at the same time, it is also convenient for you to discuss and share, your support is the driving force for us to keep writing
In 1953, a territorial dispute arose between the mainland and neighboring Nepal, and the disputed area was Mount Everest. And how did the continent solve it?
Mount Everest is a snow-capped mountain on the border between the two countries. Tibetans on the mainland call her the "Third Goddess", while Nepal calls her the "God of the Sky". In the past, this mountain also belonged entirely to the mainland. But why is it that during the Sino-Nepalese border demarcation negotiations, this "sacred mountain" was "divided into two". Has it become a region owned by both China and Nepal?
Mount Everest
The location of Mount Everest
About 38 million years ago, due to the collision and squeezing of the Eurasian plate and the Indian Ocean plate. As a result, the western border of the continent forms an arc-shaped mountain range, and this mountain range is the famous Himalayas, which means "home of snow" in Tibetan, and is the highest mountain range in the world today. There are 110 peaks over 7,000 meters above sea level, and 10 peaks over 8,000 meters. It stretches from Parbat in the Pamirs in the west to Nanga Bhava in the east at the sharp bend of the Brahmaputra River, with an overall span of about 2,450 kilometers and a width of between 200 and 300 kilometers.
The mountain range is a natural barrier between mainland Tibet and India, Nepal and Bhutan, and today's hero Mount Everest is located here, which is about 8848.86 meters above sea level, which is currently the highest peak in the world. It lies across the border between China and Nepal and is a sacred place in the hearts of countless mountaineers. In order to conquer the peak, many climbers also set up a "Everest Base Camp" at the foot of Mount Everest.
Mountaineering camp at the foot of Mount Everest
The northern part of the peak is now under the jurisdiction of Dingri County, which is located on the southwestern border of the Tibet Autonomous Region. During the Tibetan period, it belonged to the jurisdiction of "Rula". In the Qing Dynasty, it was ruled by the Ganden Podrang regime in Tibet. In 2014, it became part of the city of Shigatse. The county covers an area of about 13,860 square kilometers and has a population of around 60,000. Most of them are ethnic minorities such as Han Chinese and Uyghurs.
Dingri County
The average altitude here is around 5,000 meters, and the climate is a temperate semi-arid monsoon climate of the plateau. Therefore, only cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant crops such as barley and wheat can be grown locally. The scenery here is very unique, with two major forest resources of Rongzhi Scenic Area and Karma Scenic Area, which is a famous local tourist area. At the same time, the territory also inhabits such as Tibetan snowcock, Himalayan Tahr sheep, brown-tailed rainbow pheasant, black pheasant and other national first-class protected animals. The main livestock breeds in the area are yaks and goats.
Dingri County
The county seat here is about 500 kilometers away from Lhasa City, and about 110 kilometers away from Mount Everest in the southwest, we can see that the sturdy mountain body of Mount Everest stands between heaven and earth, the whole mountain is in the shape of a giant pyramid, majestic and majestic outside the sky, within the range of 20 kilometers around it, the peaks stand in a forest, the mountains are stacked on top of each other, forming a group of peaks to come to the court, and the peak is turbulent and magnificent shocking scene.
In addition to Mount Everest, there are also three peaks with an altitude of more than 8,000 meters: Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Makalu. Influenced by the topography and unique climate, the upper part of the mountain is full of ice peaks, and in the lower part of the mountain, ice water and glaciers are criss-crossed. Therefore, the Tibetans also use the phrase "snow on the top of the mountain in all seasons, and spring in all seasons under the mountain." A mountain is divided into four seasons, ten miles of different days", to summarize the three-dimensional climate and landscape of the region.
The dispute over Mount Everest
Nepal is located on the southern slope of Mount Everest, so the topography is also high in the north and low in the south. The country is surrounded by high mountains on three sides, and only the Terai plain in the south is suitable for human habitation. Today, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with more than 80 percent of its population dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Because of its proximity to Mount Everest, tourism is naturally the country's mainstay industry.
Nepal
Nepal covers an area of about 147,000 square kilometers and has a population of about 30 million. Its main ethnic groups are the Kas and Sherpas. Among them, the Sherpas live in the Himalayas, and they are known for their large lung capacity and bravery. It is the main force among the mountain guides on Mount Everest today. Nepalese people have always regarded Mount Everest as a "sacred mountain" called "Saga Mata". It means "the peak of the heavenly court".
But because India has a strong influence on Nepal's culture and economy, many aspects of the country are under Indian control. At that time, the mainland did not have good relations with India. So in 1953, Nepal raised objections to the mainland. It is said that Mount Everest belongs to them completely, and according to international practice, which country first discovered and recorded a certain place, then the sovereignty of this place belongs to whom.
You must know that during the Qing Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor sent two lamas from Xining, Qinghai to Tibet to survey the terrain. When they arrived at what is now Mount Everest, the two lamas marked the location of Mount Everest in Chinese and Manchu. Subsequently, the Qing Dynasty clearly included it in the territory and recorded it in the "Imperial Opinion Panorama Map". At that time, the name was "Zhu Mulang Ma Alin".
After 135 years, colonists in British India also telemetry the peak and named it "Everest". In 1952, the mainland officially renamed it "Mount Everest".
At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Tenzin Norgai, a Sherpa from Nepal, led a New Zealand mountaineering team, wearing the most advanced equipment in the world at that time, and finally successfully reached the summit, becoming the first person in all mankind to conquer Mount Everest. Therefore, Norgai is also known as the "Tiger of the Snow Mountain" by local residents. As a result, Nepal insisted that it had a reason to occupy sovereignty over Mount Everest.
Negotiations on the demarcation of Mount Everest
When Nepal claimed full sovereignty over Mount Everest, our side was based on our long-standing friendship with Nepal. So the mainland came up with a solution of half of the country. In this regard, the Nepalese side also said that it is very reasonable. But then Nepal demanded that climbers of Everest must have visas in their own country, which was undoubtedly unfair to the mainland.
Urban areas of Nepal
After some negotiations, the two countries finally reached an agreement that the mainland would climb to the summit from the north side of Mount Everest, and if successful, the sovereignty of Mount Everest would be shared, and the visa matter would have to be stopped. It has to be said that this is an unprecedented feat in the world, because before that, Tenzing Norgai started from the southern slope with a relatively warm climate and vegetation, while the northern slope of Mount Everest is extremely steep and lacks sunlight, not only is it covered with snow and ice all year round, but also extremely hypoxic.
Therefore, many geographical scholars at that time generally believed that with the mountaineering equipment and technology at that time, it was impossible to reach the summit from the north face of Mount Everest. Therefore, Nepal believed that the mainland would not be able to complete it, and since the agreement was reached, the mainland immediately searched for excellent mountaineers from all over the country. After the selection is completed, we have started rigorous training, and it is necessary to train a world-class mountaineering team.
At that time, the Soviet Union also aspired to become the first country to climb the north face of Mount Everest, so in 1957, the Sino-Soviet joint mountaineering team was established. The Soviet side provided high-level equipment and food, and the Chinese side was responsible for the transportation of supplies. At that time, only livestock could be used for transportation, and it took about half a month to complete the transportation of 500 animals. In order to facilitate transportation and support the local economy, the mainland also built a road in Dingri County at that time. But then Sino-Soviet relations changed, and not only unilaterally canceled the mountaineering plan. And all the mountaineering equipment and specialists were removed. As a result, the mainland can only face the huge challenge of climbing Mount Everest alone.
At that time, there was no good mountaineering equipment on the mainland, and the best equipment in the world was made in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. For this purpose, the state has allocated 4 million yuan to purchase about six tons of professional equipment from Switzerland and chartered an aircraft to transport it back. You must know that the mainland was in the midst of a three-year natural disaster at that time, and you can imagine how tight the mainland's finances were at that time. In 1960, the Continental Mountaineering Team was ready to embark on a great journey of independent ascent from the north face of Mount Everest.
The first ascent was relatively smooth, and the camp was set up on the second march on the mountainside above 7000 meters. As you approach the top, so does the danger. On the third expedition, when the team reached an altitude of 7,300 meters, it was hit by a huge storm that caused 34 people to suffer severe frostbite due to severe cold, and Shao Ziqing from Peking University also gave his life in the operation. But the mountaineers did not give up, and at 9 a.m. on May 17, the mountaineering team set off again after the pledge meeting.
After six days of hard work, the team reached the assault camp at 8,500 meters safely at 2 p.m. On Mount Everest, ancient ice and snow have accumulated for hundreds of thousands of years, and every meter of progress of the team members is accompanied by intense pain. In the early morning of May 24, the captain Xu actually collapsed due to physical exhaustion, but despite this, after discussion, the mountaineering team decided to continue with the original plan. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the final sprint began by the remaining four-person climbing group.
Around noon, a steep 20-meter-high rock wall appeared in front of them, and the top four meters were all smooth ice, and there was no focus point at all. After eight failed attempts, Liu Lianman, a firefighter, had an idea and sacrificed his physical strength as a ladder to help other team members hit steel cones on the stone wall, and finally successfully crossed this level. After exhausting his strength, he decided to save the remaining oxygen for the other three team members while he waited for rescue in a sheltered area.
It was late in the evening, and although the mainland climbers had no experience of night climbing, victory was within reach, and the remaining three decided to take the plunge. By the time they reached an altitude of 8,750 meters, night had fallen, and they relied on the faint starlight to grope their way through the cliffs. It took them nearly nine hours to cover the last 100 meters.
On the eve of dawn, when the trio realized that there were no more climbs around them, they realized that they had successfully climbed to the top of the mountain. At the highest point of the planet, there are no cheers or flowers, but there are bright stars that bear witness to their unparalleled achievement. All this hard work turned into joy in the heart.
Later, the news of China's successful ascent of Mount Everest from the north slope shocked the world, and Nepal was speechless, and the question of the ownership of Mount Everest was officially put to an end.