Chinese national Li Shengtao has received a prestigious accolade for his daring paragliding feat from the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at a towering altitude of 8,000 meters.
On May 18, 2023, Li Shengtao accomplished the extraordinary feat of paragliding from the formidable heights of Mount Everest, descending gracefully to the Base Camp. During the ceremony held to celebrate his achievement, Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, highlighted the significance of Shengtao’s accomplishment for Nepal’s burgeoning tourism industry.
Lamichhane also noted Nepal’s commitment to promoting paragliding education through formal institutions, emphasizing that various schools are now offering training programs for this exhilarating sport.
Li Shengtao fondly recollected his initial paragliding experience in Pokhara back in 2015, which ignited his dream of paragliding from Everest. “When I first tried paragliding in Pokhara in 2015, I decided to pursue it seriously. I underwent paragliding courses in 2016 and gradually ventured into paragliding from mountains ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 meters in China. This experience fueled my desire to attempt paragliding from Everest, and I finally realized that dream,” Li Shengtao shared.
Tourism entrepreneur Karna Shakya expressed his belief in the transformative potential of introducing innovative ideas and products within Nepal’s tourism sector, emphasizing that Nepal plays an indispensable role in the global tourism landscape.
Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati, also honored Li Shengtao at the ministry premises during the same event on Wednesday.
