Gyirong port on the China-Nepal border has become a focal point for rescue operations after severe flooding and landslides in China. CCTV footage showed the large building marking the border being swept away by powerful flows of mud and water, while hundreds of people ran toward safer ground. The building stood in the deepest of five Himalayan valleys.

The port became an important trade and transport hub after the 2015 earthquake damaged other routes. It served as a main entry point for tourists travelling between Nepal and Tibet. More than 100,000 people used the port during the first six months of the current year, and it handled more than 30 percent of total China-Nepal trade.

Following the disaster, some users on Chinese social media questioned why such an important land port had been built in a geographically unstable deep valley. Heavy rainfall last year also triggered destructive landslides and flash floods that killed 17 people. The source notes that valleys are the natural routes for crossing the Himalayas, and this passage has been used for more than 1,300 years by nomads, herders, Nepali traders and local villagers.