Tourists to north face of Mt. Qomolangma hit record high in 2014

The north face of Mt. Qomolangma received a record high of about 59,100 tourists in 2014, a local official said Wednesday.

The number is up six percent from the previous year, said Wang Kun, head of Dingri county government in Tibet, where the base camp of Mt. Qomolangma, known as Mt. Everest in the West, is located.

Of the tourists, more than 7,600 were from overseas, mostly from Europe, Wang said. Ticket sales topped 17 million yuan (about 2.7 million US dollars), up four percent from 2013.

Mt. Qomolangma, standing at an altitude of 8,844.43 meters, is the world's tallest peak and attracts mountain climbers from around the globe. Mt. Qomolangma's base camp gained reliable access to electricity last April.

Wang told Xinhua that a road linking the base camp and a national highway is under construction and should be open to traffic in June, making it easier for tourists to reach the mountain.

A tourist center will also be built in a nearby village to provide medical care, ticket information and emergency rescue services, he said.