"The mountain roads at the Nathu La Pass were narrow and Chinese and Indian merchants had to carry their goods on mules," recalled Basang, now 62. "The Indians used to carry rice and fruits to Yadong, which they swapped for potatoes and wool."

Basang did some barter trade himself in those days and after the border mart was closed, he was employed at the local government.

Today with a handsome pension and two sons working, Basang said he does not plan to restart business himself. "But the move will certainly benefit the local economy," he said.

Yadong, a county with 12,100 people in Xigaze Prefecture, sits 3,000 meters above sea level and its name in Tibetan means "the deep valley of a racing river".

The county posted 45 million yuan (5,625 million U.S. dollars) of border trade in 2005, up 88 percent year-on-year.

The reopening of the Nathu La Pass is expected to give a major boost to bilateral trade between the world's two most populous nations, which totaled 18.7 billion U.S. dollars last year and is expected to top 20 billion U.S. dollars this year.

"The reopening of border trade will help end economic isolation in this area and play a key role in boosting market economy there, " said Hao Peng, vice chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region.

The move is also conducive to improving relations between the two countries, said Dr. Christy Fernandez, additional secretary of the Indian Department of Commerce.

With the reopening of the historic trade route and Saturday's launching of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, experts say the two countries will be able to revive the ancient Silk Road by shipping goods from China's inland areas to India and other parts of south Asia via Tibet.

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