Chinese TV series Journey to the West to be aired in Nepal for 3rd time

Chinese TV series Journey to the West, based on a Chinese novel depicting the epic adventure of a Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuan Zang, is going to be aired in Nepali language for the third time.

The Nepali translation and dubbing of the TV series was done by Araniko Society, an alumni association of scholars and experts who have graduated from China.

At a press conference here on Wednesday, Araniko Society said the series will be broadcasted on two TV channels owing to its growing popularity among the Nepali audiences.

Addressing the program, renowned Nepali writer and scholar Satya Mohan Joshi said that the Chinese series will help Nepali people understand Chinese culture, art and philosophy.

"China is our neighbor. And we get to know about its culture from the series. It is a welcoming step. It will help in the promotion of cultural ties and friendship," Joshi said.

Hailing the monk for his contribution to the promotion of Buddhism, he said that the series based on Xuan Zeng's journey will help Nepali audiences embrace cultural diversity.

The series, which is of 25 episodes originally, has been divided into 50 episodes, each of 30 minutes in Nepali language. It will be aired on two TV channels Nepal Mandal and Indigenous TV from the upcoming weekend.

Journey to the West was aired for the first time in the South Asian country in 2016 on Nepal Mandal. The channel aired it for the second consecutive year in 2017, following the encouraging response from the audiences.

"Based on our data, nearly 1 million people had watched the series through our channel in the past. We got positive feedback from our audiences, thus we are happy to air it again," said Mahesh Maharjan, head of Nepal Mandal.

According to Araniko Society, the Nepali translation and dubbing of the series, through local artists, was completed four years ago. It took nearly two years for the completion of technical works.

Fifty-two-year-old Umesh Mayalu was one of the dubbing artists, who lend his voice in the series.

"I have given voice for both monkey and pig characters. It was very difficult during dubbing, but I am very happy to be a part of the work," Umesh told Xinhua.