Chinese armed police repair a road linkling Nepal with China in Nepal on May 7, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua]

A transport detachment of the Chinese armed police was awarded a first-class merit citation for their speedy relief and highway repair work after a strong earthquake hit Nepal and parts of China's Tibet one year ago.

The awards ceremony was held Tuesday in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region.

The detachment was among the first responders to enter Tibet's Nyalam County and cleared a passage into Zham, a town that borders Nepal and was badly affected by the 8.1-magnitude earthquake on April 25, 2015.

More than 500 officers were dispatched to the area, and during the following month, they removed hundreds of thousands of tons of rubble and reopened 64 km of highway.