Wide street scene in Kathmandu showing a damaged white colonial building with columns, traditional Nepalese pagoda temples, cycle rickshaws with colorful covers, pedestrians in bright clothing, and small cars on a dusty plaza under partly cloudy sky

Kathmandu street scene with earthquake-damaged colonial building and traditional Nepalese architecture, Nepal 2017

A bustling street scene in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 9, 2017, showing daily life continuing around a severely earthquake-damaged colonial-era building with classical columns. Traditional pagoda temples and cycle rickshaws populate the historic square.

Life Goes On in Kathmandu's Historic Heart

Two years after the devastating 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people and destroyed countless heritage sites, this Kathmandu square tells a story of resilience. The white colonial building with its grand columns stands as a haunting reminder of the destruction, its upper floors crumbled and exposed to the sky.

Yet life pulses through the dusty plaza. Colorfully dressed pedestrians navigate between cycle rickshaws and small white cars. Traditional pagoda temples with their distinctive tiered roofs rise in the background, some restored, others still bearing scars. This is Nepal's reality in 2017: a nation balancing preservation of its irreplaceable cultural heritage with the urgent need to rebuild and move forward.

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