Cho Oyu or Qowowuyag means «goddess of turquoise» in Tibetan. The name assumedly is a compound of the Tibetan words chomo (goddess) and yo (turquoise) and refers to the turquoise glow of the summit in the afternoon light, which is visible from Tibet. Cho Oyu is situated in the Central Himalaya, only 20 km to the west of Mt. Everest, and is the western cornerstone of the Mahalangur Himal in the main chain of the Himalaya. The borderline between China and Nepal runs right across its summit. This border has been argued about for a long time and before the turn of the century, the Chinese government made it clear to all mountaineers that the normal route of the Cho Oyo is only to be accessed via Tibet.