Nepali students have been furthering their education at medical schools in China for decades. The graduates have become some of most reputed doctors in Nepal. Our reporter Ge Yunfei has the story.

Patan Hospital is in the suburbs of Kathmandu. It's one of the three best hospitals in the Nepali capital. Dr. Nabees Pradhan is the head of the hospital's orthopedics department. It has been 20 years since he graduated in China.

DR. NABEES MAN SINGH PRADHAN HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF ORTHOPEDICS PATAN ACADEMY OF HEALTH SCIENCES  "I went to China in 1993, when I was 19 years old. At that time, we had only one university that had a medical school in Nepal. They would only accept 20 medical students. The Chinese government provided scholarships for us. So I went to Beijing Medical University for my postgraduate studies." 

Dr. Pradhan said the experience of graduating from China's top medical school made him what he is today. And there are three other doctors in his department who have studied in China. He hopes more Nepali students will be able to go to study in China.

DR. NABEES MAN SINGH PRADHAN HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF ORTHOPEDICS PATAN ACADEMY OF HEALTH SCIENCES "From my perspective, there is a big gap in healthcare between China and Nepal. China has much higher medical standards. I hope more of our medical students will have the opportunity to study in China for masters or PhD degrees. The students' technique of operation will be improved. And also, I hope doctors from China could come to Nepal and exchange work experience with us. In this way, we could learn from the Chinese doctors.”

The Arniko Society is an alumni association of scholars and experts in Nepal who have graduated from China. Its president, Sarbottam Shrestha, says his organization is the first to translate and publish documents on China’s Belt & Road Initiative into Nepali. Shrestha thinks Traditional Chinese Medicine could play a bigger role in Nepal.

SARBOTTAM SHRESTHA PRESIDENT, ARNIKO SOCIETY "So far, it's totally a blank in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine cooperation between China and Nepal. There are no Traditional Chinese Medicine hospitals. There are some TCM doctors but they only serve Chinese people here. So we want push TCM to Nepali society as a whole."

Shrestha says he hopes the Belt & Road Initiative will help the two countries establish a mutual certificate recognition system. Ge Yunfei, CGTN, Kathmandu.