KATHMANDU－Chinese TV series Journey to the West, based on a Chinese novel depicting the epic adventure of Tang Dynasty (618-907) Buddhist monk Xuan Zang, is going to be aired in Nepal for the third time.

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

At a news conference last week, the Araniko Society said the series will be broadcast on two TV channels owing to its growing popularity among Nepali audiences.

Addressing the program, 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 says.

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

The series, which originally comprised 25 episodes, has been divided into 50, 30-minute episodes, all in the Nepali language. It was aired on two TV channels, Nepal Mandal and Indigenous TV, starting last weekend.

The former aired Journey to the West for the first time in 2016. The channel aired it for the second consecutive year in 2017, following an encouraging response from the audience.

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

According to the 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 work.

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

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