China will restore Nepali heritage site

China will send teams to help Nepal to restore a cultural heritage site damaged by an earthquake two years ago in Kathmandu, the capital, as part of its aid to Nepal for post-quake reconstruction.

Restoration work on the nine-story Basantapur Tower, a World Cultural Heritage Site at historic Durbar Square, is expected to begin around August, said CI Lixin, deputy head of Hebei Institute for Preservation of Ancient Architecture.

The tower was one of the tallest structures in the square that stands in front of the former Kathmandu Kingdom’s royal palace.

The institute was commissioned by the Ministry of Commerce to do the work and will be in charge of the overall plan for the tower’s renovation. After the work starts, the institute will play a supervisory role.

“This is China’s first aid program to Nepal for heritage restoration, which will further promote the friendship between the two countries,” CI said. The team, which is highly qualified because of its vast experience and superior skill, will make every effort to restore the tower, he said.

The overall plan, submitted to Nepal in March, was approved at the end of April by the Archaeology Department of Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

The program will last five years and cost nearly 90 million yuan ($13 million), to be paid by the Chinese government, CI said. Its main tasks include conservation and repair of historic buildings and protective engineering.

The restoration will present several challenges, he said.

“The delicate Buddhist wood carvings inside the tower need to be restored by skilled craftsmen, and collapsed structures have to be matched with meticulous attention,” CI said.

All the work will be in accordance with local practices and meet World Cultural Heritage Site protection and renovation requirements, he said.

“The aid program shows the confidence and trust Nepal’s government and people place in China,” Liu Qibao, amemberof the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said when he visited the tower at the end of last year.

“China has accumulated a wealth of experience in post-quake restoration of cultural relics after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008,” he said.

The tower and auxiliary buildings were seriously damaged by a 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people and destroyed 500,000 buildings in Nepal.

BERNAT ARMANGUE / AP A Nepali cycle rickshaw pedals past buildings at Basantapur Durbar Square that were damaged in a 2015 earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal.