Immediately after unifying Nepal from several small principalities in 1768, founding father Prithvi Narayan Shah offered his visionary foreign policy giving special priority to relations with China while exercising utmost caution in dealing with the powerful British empire establishing its rule over the entire Indian subcontinent.

Call it a sweet coincidence of history, then, as China is now paying tribute to such a staunch friend by renovating his two palaces – one in Kathmandu and another in Nuwakot district – damaged by the devastating Gorkha Earthquake in 2015.

The Chinese team will finish construction of the nine-story palace in Kathmandu by 2022. Locally known as Nautale Durbar, the landmark structure is located at Basantpur Durbar Square in the heart of the capital. P.N. Shah had made Basantpur, also known as Hanuman Dhoka Durbar, as his capital after conquering the Kathmandu Valley. Originally, he had been the king of tiny Gorkha state to the west of Kathmandu.

Shah himself built Nautale Durbar in 1770. Included in the UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage Sites list, it has three towers named after the Valley's three cities – Patan, Kirtipur and Bhaktapur. This shows that Nepal's unifier gave equal importance to the people of all three ancient cities. The iconic palace has huge tourism value as it offers a panoramic view of the entire valley.

As part of its support for Nepal's post-quake reconstruction drive, China extended economic and technical support to restore the palace to original shape at an estimated cost of around 150 million rupees. Then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang jointly inaugurated the project on August 15, 2017. 

Guo Qianru, a researcher working with the Chinese engineers, announced: “Restoration work on the palace is moving smoothly, and we expect to finish it within the deadline.”

The Chinese engineers involved have accumulated good experiences and skills in restoring the cultural monuments destroyed by earthquakes in their own country.

In order to preserve the original structure and style, local materials such as timber, sand, bricks and surkhi (brick powder) have been used for the repair of the palace steeped in ancient art, myth and Buddhist carvings. Skilled craftsmen are working hard so its aesthetic beauty, reflected in wooden doors, windows, towers and beams, are kept intact.

"It is our family profession and we are meticulously paying attention to the woodwork of the collapsed building," said carpenter Ramgopal Shilpakar, whose father and uncles had helped renovate the palace some 35 years ago. 

There is a combination between the Chinese modern technology and Nepal's traditional method of building construction. This also provides an opportunity for Chinese experts and engineers to learn about Nepal's indigenous skill and knowledge. 

Gopal Jha, an engineer from the Department of Archaeology of Nepal, said: "It is a world heritage site and China, as a responsible member of UNESCO, also has an obligation to reconstruct the cultural heritage destroyed by the tremor."

The invaluable Chinese support for heritage restoration expands the area of cooperation between the two countries. This amply suggests that China is strong in favor of preserving the ancient culture, history and art of its neighbor. It has become the largest foreign investor in Nepal, helping in the development of its social, economic, trade, culture and educational sector.

And renovation of Nautale Durbar goes a long way in further cementing the bond.

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