China and India are gearing up to restart border trade Thursday through Tibet's Nathu La Pass, a historic trading route that has been closed for 44 years.

The Nathu La Pass, sitting 4,545 meters above sea level, was once a pivotal point on the ancient Silk Road. Its name in Tibetan translates into "a place of heaviest snowstorm".

Located some 460 kilometers from Tibet's regional capital Lhasa and 550 kilometers from the Indian coastal city of Calcutta, the pass was an important trade passage between China and India but was closed in 1962 amid border conflicts.

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 wire netting that separated the two neighbors for the past 44 years and in its place is a 10-meter wide, stone walled passageway waiting for merchants 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".

In line with minutes of negotiations signed between Chinese and Indian officials in Lhasa last month, the two countries will reopen the trade route Thursday with two border trade markets -- the Renqinggang market in Tibet and Changgu mart in India's state of Sikkim.

Renqinggang market is 16 kilometers northeast of the Nathu La Pass. It 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.

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