China and India raised their national flags Thursday morning on the two sides of their borderline at Nathu La Pass.

The two countries will hold a ceremony later to restart border trade through the pass, a historic trading route that has been closed for 44 years after a border conflict between the two countries.

The pass bathed in glory Thursday as officials and businesspeople from both sides of the borderline gathered and waited for the historic moment.

Gone is the barbed wire fence that separated the two neighbors for the past 44 years and in its place is now a 10-meter wide, stone walled passageway waiting for merchants from both sides to go through.

A red banner has been put up on the Chinese side of the borderline, with Chinese characters reading "Warmest congratulations to the reopening of Sino-Indian Nathu La Pass border trade route".

On the Indian side is a yellow banner reading "Welcome to Nathu La".

Officials of the two countries agreed last month that Thursday is the date to open up two border trade markets -- the Renqinggang market in Yadong County of Tibet's Xigaze Prefecture and Changgu mart in India's state of Sikkim.

People in Yadong and Sikkim share many similarities in their dialects and ways of life.

After border trade resumes, Chinese silk, yak tails, goat skin, wool, cashmere, household electric appliances and herb are expected to enter the Indian market via the pass while India's farm produce and livestock will hopefully be sold to China.

"I'd like to start trade with my Indian neighbors soon," said Basang, a 25-year-old vendor in Yadong.

Renqinggang market, 16 km northeast of the Nathu La Pass, is a 6,000-square-meter project with a 1,700-square-meter parking area. It has an inspection and quarantine center, warehouse, customs checkpoint, bank, post office and restaurant.

The market will open from Monday through Thursday between June 1 and Sept. 30 every year and the business hours will last from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., said officials in Yadong county of Xigaze Prefecture, where the market is located.

Wang Huatian, a private business owner from east China's Zhejiang Province, has leased a booth at the market to sell clothes. "I heard months ago that China and India were to reopen the border pass."

Wang said he will invest several million yuan here if business proves good.

Source: Xinhua