Chinese team arrives at Lumbini

By A Staff Reporter,Bhairahawa, June 13: A delegation headed by Chen Ruifeng, Minister of the National Religious Affairs Administration of China, arrived in Lumbini today. 

Chen Song, the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, and Veneral Master Yin Shun, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Buddhist Association of China, and Buddhist Abbot of the Zhong Hua Chinese Buddhist Monastery in Lumbini, also accompanied the delegation.

Upon the arrival of the delegation at the Gautam Buddha International Airport, Lumbini Development Trust Chairperson Lhyarkal Lama, Nepal-China Friendship Society Chair Narayan Prasad Sapkota, and other members greeted the team, as did the deputy mayor of Lumbini Sansktrika Municipality Kalpana Harijan.

The Chinese delegation included Huang Zhihui, Director General of the General Bureau of National Religious Affairs Administration; Li Ming, Division Chief of the Buddhist Division in Religious Affairs; Ai Xiao, Division Chief of the Christian Division in Religious Affairs; Ms. Xuwenzhen, Deputy Division Chief of International Exchanges; and Wang Ruhui, a member of the General Bureau of National Religious Affairs Administration.

The Chinese officials toured Maya Devi Temple and numerous monasteries, including the Chinese monastery, and went around various areas of Lord Buddha's birthplace, according to a press release from the Nepal-China Friendship Society in Lumbini. The society chairman, Sapkota, welcomed the Chinese delegation and stated that Nepal's long-standing cordial relations with China emphasise the need to promote Lumbini in China to enhance religious tourism in the nation. He requested the Chinese side to send more Chinese tourists of Lumbini and Nepal.