Many Chinese eager to visit Lumbini

Ekraj Pathak

Kathmandu: Lumbini is not a place that can be visited in one, two or one week time said a Chinese monk Si Chong Yong of Chinese Buddhist Association international.

“I am surprised to hear from tourists visiting Lumbini that it can be visited in just one or two days,” said Yong. He further said it takes at least two weeks to visit this sacred  Buddhist pilgrimage site to study the religious site.

Yong who is the first international member of  the Chinese Buddhist Association was glad enough to elaborate about importance of Lumbini.

“Many Chinese are eager to visit Lumbini to study Buddhist philosophy, birth place of Gautam Buddha and related things but big hotels and infrastructure is not available here for those Chinese to stay,” said Yong.

He said in China there are big hotels with plenty of rooms to accommodate more number of tourists but here in Nepal the hotels are small in size and there are less number of hotels in Lumbini with less capacity.

Chinese tourists would like to come in large groups and like to stay together in one hotel which is not available in Lumbini. Therefore, such hotels and infrastructure are needed here said Yong.

Lumbini is the world’s center of faith for all Buddhist followers from across the world as it is the birth place of Lord Buddha and the most venerated and famous tourist hub in the world.

Everyone in the world wishes to visit Lumbini at least once in life time and not to talk of the wishes of the Buddhist faith followers who would also desire for the same.

We must assume that one day the whole population of the world will come to Nepal to visit Lumbini. So, not only big hotels but good infrastructure should be prepared here to promote the progress and prosperity of the country through tourism.

Most of the Chinese have developed a desire to visit Nepal and Lumbini after Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Nepal last time. Chinese people hardly understand English language. So, Nepal government should focus on facilitation in Chinese language for the incoming Chinese tourists which would be good enough and productive.

Yong also said Nepal and China has had a very old cultural relations between Nepal and China and there are innumerable facts to prove it.

Chinese Buddhist Association international has supported Nepal during the last earth quake in 2015 and in the recent Covid-19 crisis.