Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas. It is located on the Indo-China border connecting the Indian state of Sikkim with the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The pass, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft) above mean sea level, forms part of an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road. Nathu means "listening ears" and La means "pass" in Tibetan. It is also spelled Ntula, Natu La, Nathula, or Natula. Nathu La is one of the three trading border posts between China and India; the other two are Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh (or Lipulech) in Uttarakhand. Sealed by India after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, it was re-opened in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements. The opening of the pass is expected to bolster the economy of the region and play a key role in the growing Sino-Indian trade. Currently, agreements between the two nations limit trade across the pass to the export of 29 types of goods from India and import of 15 from the Chinese side. The opening also shortens the travel distance to important Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the region.
Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathu_La> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1027: Pope John XIX crowned Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor> 1484: William Caxton, the first printer of books in English, printed his translation of Aesop's Fables. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesop%27s_Fables> 1636: Utrecht University, one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe, was established. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht_University> 1971: After the Pakistan Army attempted to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in Operation Searchlight, East Pakistan declared its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh , starting the Bangladesh Liberation War. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Searchlight> 1975: The Biological Weapons Convention, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire category of weapons, entered into force. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_Weapons_Convention> 1999: The Melissa computer worm was released, infecting e-mail systems around the world. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_%28computer_worm%29> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: conterminous (adj): 1. Meeting end-to-end or at the ends. 2. (of geographical regions) Adjoining; sharing a boundary. 3. Having the same scope, range of meaning, or extent in time <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/conterminous> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That's what it's all finally about. --Joseph Campbell <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
