This photo taken in the morning of May 12, 2023 shows a view of Mount Qomolangma in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

For the Nepalese and many others around the world, May 29 is a special day to salute the remarkable achievements of those who have successfully overcome the challenges and scaled the world's highest peak, making the unimaginable possible.

It is also a day to pay tribute to the countless mountaineers, guides and explorers who have lost their lives in attempting to reach the summit of that Himalayan wonder, Mount Qomolangma, which is also known as Mount Everest.

The Everest Day also serves as a good opportunity for promoting business and tourism in Nepal, said Prakash Pun, president of Hong Kong-Nepalese Business Association

Nepal marked the 70th International Everest Day on May 29. It was on that day 70 years ago that Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal reached the summit of Qomolangma in a historic first ascent of the Earth’s highest mountain.

READ MORE: 2nd Nepali guide climbs Mount Qomolangma for 26th time

Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation organized the Everest Day celebrations, which saw several figures from the global mountaineering community attend various events hosted in Nepal to mark the occasion. May 29 is also special for another reason: it is the birthday of Tenzing Norgay, the Nepalese guide who accompanied Hillary on the landmark mountaineering feat.

This year, there was also a new hero, the 53-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa. On May 23, Kami Rita reached the summit of Qomolangma for the 28th time, breaking his own record that was set just a week earlier, since his first ascent in 1994.

“Everest Day is a celebration of human ability, influence, (and going) beyond our limits, and also a celebration of reaching the top of the world,” said Binod Adhikari, director the Himalayan documentary Everest Man, which chronicled the climbing feats of Kami Rita.

The day also bears the aim of promoting the peak and Nepal, as the mountain is the first image that makes Nepal familiar to the world, said Arbindra Prajapati, a senior Hong Kong-based executive with Nepal Airlines.

“As you can see, (Mount) Everest itself is an introduction of Nepal being the world's roof.”

According to him, with the world’s highest peak, Nepal is a beautiful “Shangri-la” (meaning more beautiful than Heaven) and offers numerous attractions for foreigners from around the world. However, tourist flow has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This undated photo shows a poster of the documentary Everest Man. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Given this, the International Everest Day celebrations can help boost the prospects for revival of mountaineering tourism in Nepal, he noted.

The Everest Day also serves as a good opportunity for promoting business and tourism in Nepal, said Prakash Pun, president of Hong Kong-Nepalese Business Association. 

READ MORE: China launches scientific expedition to Mt Qomolangma

Earlier, the Consulate General of Nepal in Hong Kong and Macao SARs celebrated International Everest Day by screening the Everest Man documentary for invited guests. Kiran Kumar Gurung, a top diplomat at the consulate, was among the attendees.

Born in Thame, a small village in Nepal, Kami Rita comes from a community of Sherpa mountaineers, and his record-breaking ascents of the world’s highest peak has given him a special identity in the area of climbing.

“We respect and admire Kami Rita Sherpa, a man who left an eternal sign on mountaineering history, said Adhikari, the director of the Everest Man documentary. “Other climbers may one day (surpass) this achievement, but Kami Rita is and will always be the inspiration.”

Contact the writer at vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com