Page 22 - YunnanTourismCultureTimes (99)

21 China·South Asia

Standing on the top floor of the Bas- depicting religious figures and patterns. To
Preserving the temple’s antapur Tower in Kathmandu, Nepal, one delve deeper into the religious connotations
can admire the large white clouds drifting embodied within these carvings, the China
“living history” gently over the distant mountains. From Academy of Cultural Heritage established a
dedicated scientific research project. Addi-
this vantage point, the majestic Sway-
留住神庙的“活历史” ambhunath Temple atop the hill is clearly tionally, skilled Nepalese craftsmen, hailing
from a lineage of generations engaged in
visible. Looking down, the lively ambiance
of Durbar Square unfolds, with vibrant carpentry, were enlisted to carve the wood-
hawkers tending to their stalls. Primary en components. This approach ensured that
schoolchildren, adorned in pristine white the building’s religious and artistic value
uniforms, joyfully dart in and out of narrow was both preserved and enhanced, allowing
alleyways. The melodious chimes hanging the temple to maintain its status as a “living
from the eaves of the houses create a de- history” monument. After several years of
lightful symphony in the gentle breeze. diligent work by Chinese heritage experts,
Durbar Square, alongside six other the principal structure of the nine-story
clusters of historical sites and architectural temple complex has been successfully
complexes, forms an integral part of the restored, breathing new life into Nepal’s
cultural heritage in the Kathmandu Val- treasure trove of cultural heritage.
ley. This region holds the distinction of In addition, a team of Chinese university
being Nepal’s inaugural World Heritage students dedicated themselves to the pres-
Site. Among these treasures, the Basanta- ervation of heritage in Nepal. Ren Sijie, a
pur Tower, colloquially referred to as the post-80s teacher from the School of Archi-
“nine-layer temple,” stands tall at approx- tecture at Southeast University, along with
imately 32 meters in height. Tragically, another teacher named Zhuge Jing, has led
on April 25, 2015, a powerful earthquake nearly 20 undergraduate students on annual
measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale struck expeditions to Nepal for field surveys and
the area, resulting in extensive damage to mapping. Over the course of three years,
the entire tower complex. The top three they successfully conducted the survey-
floors of the tower even crumbled to the ing and mapping of the Changu Narayan
ground. Recognizing the urgency of the temple complex, another World Heritage
situation, a team of Chinese experts was Site, and a site included in the Tentative
dispatched to Nepal in August 2017 to un- List of World Heritage Sites. Their efforts
dertake the task of restoration. have made a significant contribution to the
Zhou Jianguo, the lead engineer of the preservation of these invaluable cultural
restoration team, vividly recalls the im- treasures.
mense challenges they faced during the According to Sun Yingzhe, a graduate
restoration process. At that time, historical teaching assistant, the students’ engage-
information was scarce, making it incred- ment in Nepal extends beyond academic
ibly difficult to reconstruct the collapsed assignments or graduation designs; it is a
section. To overcome this obstacle, the form of social practice. Each team member
team sought the guidance of seasoned is viewed as a custodian of the heritage
craftsmen and meticulously collected they work on. Over the course of three
vintage photographs. Their goal was to years, the team has crafted over a dozen
faithfully restore the original historical ap- bilingual travel brochures in Chinese and
pearance of the complex. The tower com- English. “With the increasing influx of Chi-
plex boasts a wealth of exquisite wooden nese tourists to Nepal,” Sun remarked, “we
components adorned with intricate carvings aspire for these meticulously mapped land-
marks to become not just popular tourist
destinations, but also to have their cultural
allure appreciated by visitors.”