By Kelsey Cheng For Mailonline
Published: 10:51 GMT, 15 February 2019 | Updated: 16:48 GMT, 15 February 2019
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Chinese authorities have indefinitely closed the base camp of its side of Mount Everest to visitors, state media reported.
The Everest base camp in Tibet will be closed to visitors without a climbing permit until further notice as part of efforts to clean up the garbage that has accumulated at the site.
Ordinary tourists can only go as far as Rongbuk monastery which is slightly below the 5,200m (17,060ft) base camp level. Those with climbing permits would be allowed to go to the base camp or higher, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Climbers collect waste from the Chinese north side of Mount Everest in 2017. The Everest base camp in Tibet will be closed to visitors without a climbing permit until further notice
The Chinese base camp is gaining popularity among mountaineers as it is accessible by car, whereas the Nepalese camp can only be reached by a two-week hike.
'The core area will be closed for tourism for an indefinite period, mainly for ecological conservation,' Tang Wu, from the tourism commission of Tingri county, told video news site Pear. The 'core area' refers
