Cultural Heritage Institute participates in restoration of Taleju Temple in Nepal

Zhejiang University is responsible for the first large-scale cultural relic restoration project by China undertaken in Nepal.

At the invitation of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage and the Department of Archaeology under the Nepalese Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, LI Zhirong, associate dean of the Cultural Heritage Institute, led a team of 3 engineers to engage in chronicling digital data regarding Taleju Temple located at Kathmandu Durbar Square in Nepal.

Taleju Temple is an integral part of the Kathmandu Valley which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. It boasts of considerable historical and architectural values and is one of the landmarks in Kathmandu. In 2015, Kathmandu Valley was hit by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake which caused severe damage to a wealth of precious cultural relics. Consequently, the Government of Nepal solicited assistance from the Chinese Government. In January 2016, the two governments signed an agreement concerning restoration of Taleju Temple at Kathmandu Durbar Square. 

In response to the Belt & Road Initiative, the Cultural Heritage Institute aims at documenting the status quo and history of Taleju Temple in a digitalized and comprehensive manner and illuminating, expressing and sharing the concept, principle and achievement of restoration work in a visualized way in this restoration project. It is primarily focused on photographing and scanning typical components and resorted parts as well as surveying and drawing hidden parts.  

The Cultural Heritage Institute has completed relevant work in the first phase and other work is under way in an orderly fashion.