KATHMANDU, AUGUST 31
Chinese national Li Shengtao has been honored for paragliding from the top of the world's tallest mountain, Mt. Everest, from a height of 8,000 meters.
Babu Adventure Paragliding, Seven Summit Treks Pvt. Ltd., and Big Mountain Travels bestowed this honor upon Shengtao for his remarkable achievement on Wednesday.
Li Shengtao successfully paraglided from Mt. Everest, descending from a height of 8,000 meters to the Base Camp on May 18, 2023. During the felicitation event, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, stated that Shengtao's feat would open up new opportunities for the flourishing tourism industry in Nepal.
Joint Secretary Lamichhane also mentioned that Nepal has been actively promoting paragliding education through formal channels, with schools offering training in this exhilarating skill.
Li Shengtao fondly reminisced about his first paragliding experience in Pokhara in 2015 and how it had ignited his dream of paragliding from Everest.
"When I first paraglided in Pokhara in 2015, I decided to pursue paragliding seriously. I underwent paragliding courses in 2016 and progressively paraglided from mountains ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 meters in China. This experience fueled my desire to paraglide from Everest, and I finally made that attempt," Li Shengtao shared.
Tourism entrepreneur Karna Shakya expressed his belief that introducing new ideas and products in the tourism sector could significantly contribute to Nepal's tourism development. "Nepal holds tremendous potential in the tourism industry, and without Nepal's contribution, the global tourism landscape would be incomplete," Shakya emphasized.
Similarly, Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati honored Li Shengtao at the ministry premises on Wednesday.
