<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67e49c7e80680e0599ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1365" height="2048"/><figcaption>Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi posted pictures of herself on social media on New Year's eve to promote Nepal tourism among the Chinese. Photo: AMBASSADOR HOU YANQI/TWITTER</figcaption></figure>When Nepal chose famous Chinese actress Xu Qing to be its Goodwill Ambassador to promote Visit Nepal Year 2020 in China, she did not need much convincing. She was already in love with Nepal.“My heart was racing when I saw the breathtaking view of the Annapurna range,” she gushed in a Weibo post from Pokhara, “This is the life I yearn for.”Xu posted photos of herself posing in front of Machapuchre, boating on Phewa Lake, wearing a marigold garland, and taking selfies with smiling local children. Those images and videos went to 17 million of the actress’ followers on Chinese social media.Xu Qing, who starred in her first film in 1990, has won numerous awards in the past 30 years. Many of her roles are deeply rooted in the hearts of people, which makes her hugely popular on social media. Her account on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform in China, has more than 17 million followers.“It was a wise decision for Nepal to choose her as an influencer to promote tourism from China,” says <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/chinese-ink-wash-paintings-in-Nepal,2622">Chinese art curator Justin Zhao</a> who has lived in Nepal for seven years, and founded the Himalayan Light Art Award. “Next door China is the biggest potential market for tourism development in Nepal, and the number of Chinese tourists to Nepal is growing rapidly.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67e79c7e80680e059a00jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67eb9c7e80680e059a01jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67ee9c7e80680e059a02jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi has also been projecting China’s soft power in Nepal through her social media feeds to promote Visit Nepal 2020. In a Tweet on new year’s eve on Tuesday, she posted pictures of herself modelling in Patan Darbar Square and wrote: ‘True beauty always touches the deep heart. Beautiful Nepal with history, diversity and nature deserves a visit. Wish #VisitNepal2020 successful!’ And she tagged Nepal’s Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai.From January to October 2019, there were 134,281 Chinese tourists in Nepal, up nearly 10% for the same period last year. Chinese visitors account for nearly 14% of arrivals by nationality, second only to India. Numbers started going up in 2011 after Nepal announced <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-chinese-are-coming/">free visas for Chinese nationals</a>.“Chinese Buddhists and those who enjoy adventure sports are the two most common types of Chinese tourists in Nepal,” notes Wang Ziping, who runs a restaurant in Pokhara. Indeed, many of the visitors have nothing but praise for Nepal’s natural beauty and its friendly people.‘Although Nepal is poor, it is the happiest country in the world. You can actually see the real smiles on people's faces and feel their inner comfort. I taste a bit of my dream life here,” noted one visitor on an online post.Adds another: ‘In the southern slopes of the Himalaya, you can see the cultural diversity of South Asia. People of different religious faiths live in peace here. They understand each other and develop together.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f19c7e80680e059a03jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="511"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f39c7e80680e059a04jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="178"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f59c7e80680e059a05jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="203"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f79c7e80680e059a06jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="292">There are also negative comments, and deal mostly with poor infrastructure and the high airfares. Says restauranteur Wang: “Air tickets to Nepal are too expensive. The price in the peak season is more than double to similar destinations. If the price of air tickets can be reduced to about the same as that of flying to Thailand, more people would love to come.”With a target of two million tourists in 2020, entrepreneurs have made efforts <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/Chinese-tourists-on-the-rise-in-nepal,2088">targeting potential Chinese visitors</a>, but many say that unless the infrastructure bottlenecks like airports and highways are fixed it will be difficult to meet the target even if the volume of Chinese tourists reaches 500,000 this year.But here in Pokhara, restaurants, hotels and paragliding companies are gearing up for the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18432#.XgmHydIza70">influx of Chinese tourists</a>. At Lakeside restaurant <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/number-of-Chinese-tourists-growing-in-nepal,1917">menus are in Chinese, as are shop signs</a>.  Shopkeepers do their part by calling out “Ni hao” to welcome any Chinese-looking person.“We have Mandarin courses so our staff can communicate with Chinese tourists,” says Prakritee Gurung, manager at Shangri-La Village Resort. Across town at Fishtail Lodge, nearly half the 24,000 guests in 2019 were Chinese tourists.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67f99c7e80680e059a07jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="965" height="912">Nepal is getting ready for the first tri-nation Nepal-India-China Expo (NICE) 21-24 Feburary for joint tourism promotion. Nepal is strategically placed to be the tourism go-between for the two Asian giants.Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who have been lobbying for decades to have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/">Pokhara International Airport</a> built are excited that it will finally open next year, and there will be direct flights between Chinese cities and Pokhara, bypassing Kathmandu.Pokhara became famous in China after the popular television serial Deng Feng Lai (Up in the Wind) was filmed on location here where the two protagonists took <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19255#.XgmF09Iza70">a paragliding flight</a>. Since then, many young Chinese have flocked to Pokhara.For Wang Ziping it was love at first sight with Pokhara. He came on a visit, and never left, deciding to open the Pokhara Restaurant on Lakeside. He says: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c32WjMV3InY">Pokhara International Airport</a> is about to be finished and there will be more Chinese tourists flying directly here. I am sure business will pick up.”

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Chinese tourist influx to Nepal in 2020

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a673c9c7e80680e0599c9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Photo: HIMALAYAN HERMITAGE</figcaption></figure>Things improve imperceptibly in Nepal, with small changes for the better. And that is the first thing frequent visitors to Kathmandu notice at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/kathmandu-airport-is-nepal-in-a-microcosm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the airport</a>: the shining new floor of the arrival concourse and various gold-plated, hand-crafted figures at the base of the escalators.It shows that with just a small effort, we can improve the state of the state. Tourism provides the incentive for positive actions in the past, and will help us do much more as we enter Visit Nepal 2020 when the country is <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/bringing-in-two-miilion-tourists,3551" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hoping to double the number of visitors</a>.Tourism can also be attributed to creating jobs, lifting people out of poverty, helping save endangered species and their habitats, letting income percolate down to remote areas, and helping heritage conservation in a big way.With politics more stable, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-they-kept-nepal-in-the-dark-ages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">power outages behind us</a>, Kathmandu Valley’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-by-night/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Heritage Sites are lit for nighttime visitors</a>. Horticulture farms producing organic food, art and crafts studios and workshops, chefs and hospitality staff, are all doing better. More and more hotels with better amenities give the sector the much needed competition that will focus on better quality of services. Tourism is good for Nepal, contributing up to 10% of the GDP according to one estimate.As disposable income increases, more Nepali families are opting to travel and spend. These ‘domestic tourists’ on average spend more than the ‘budget tourists’ who came to Nepal because it is often sold as a cheap destination. Hotels that would deny rooms and services to Nepalis now prefer them.Campaigns that call on people to travel within Nepal first, and then <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/where-are-you-going-this-dasain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">venture out into the world</a>. (‘Pahila Desh, Ani Bidesh) are helping. The governor of Nepal Rastra Bank recently lamented that Nepali ‘tourists’ took Rs90 billion worth of foreign currency out of Nepal as compared to Rs74 billion brought in by foreigners.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a673f9c7e80680e0599cajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Some say Nepalis, who used to save money, buy gold or land, are now spending more because of the near death experience during the 2015 earthquake. Religious sites like Manakamana were always popular, but now with increased mobility and spare change, Nepali pilgrims throng far flung temples. A foreign visitor asks where two million tourists will stay when millions of Nepalis are travelling. Good point.Thirty years ago the trend was globalisation, and now there is a definite move towards localisation. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/tourism-aviation-and-carbon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate awareness has actually resulted in a drop in air travel</a> in some European countries. Local restaurants with local drinks are doing better than those offering imported ones. Thakali restaurants used to be confined to the Mugling-Pokhara corridor, now they are everywhere. Textiles, handicrafts, building materials, design elements, food, fruits, sweets,yogurt, spices, tea, coffee, are all doing well because people want to try local.Conversations these days are often dominated by, “Have you been to this amazing restaurant at Lakeside in Pokhara?” The social media is helping because friends and influencers post photos of Nepal’s most exotic places. Schools, colleges and businesses are going further afield within Nepal for field trips.Nepal has <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/half-full/re-imagining-tourism-in%20nepal,1103" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two neighbors that have the highest number of outbound travelers in the world</a>, and it is growing. These markets have special needs and may not match traditional North America or European clientele. Food, shopping, pilgrimage, corporate retreats, meetings, medical checkups, banking, ease of travel could be some of the reasons they may visit Nepal. With these giant markets next door, all we need to do is tailor-make our promotional campaigns in their language, and to suit their tastes.To be sure, we will have to monitor alcohol, gambling and prostitution. We need <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/guiding-nepals-tourism-industry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">staff trained</a> with better language skills and safety standards and paid and treated with respect. Flight and vehicle safety need to be regularly upgraded.The travel trade is changing, and the tourism entrepreneur has to be proactive. As the Visit Nepal slogan declares, visitors are looking for a lifetime experience and not a mediocre trip. We have the challenge to offer an experience that is distinctly different than China, India and Bhutan – but that does not mean visitors want to rough it out. We have to move towards carbon neutral tourism that contributes to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Conservation-and-tourism-Chitwan-National-Park,2957" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conservation of nature and heritage</a>. And: we have to stop selling poverty and volunteer tourism.Let us not make it sound like the tourist is doing us a favor by coming here. Let them come because they want to, because Nepal is special. It has to be a lifetime experience.Anil Chitrakar is President of Siddharthinc.

Anil Chitrakar

Make sure you visit Nepal in 2020

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a67179c7e80680e0599bdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1097"/><figcaption>Turkish Airlines Nepal manager Abdullah Tuncer Kecici with VNY2020's Suraj Vaidya after signing an MoU for joint promotion of Nepal during Visit Nepal 2020. Photo: Kunda Dixit</figcaption></figure>The secretariat of Visit Nepal Year 2020 has signed a partnership agreement with Turkish Airlines to promote Nepal in the carrier’s international network as part of the effort to meet the target of 2 million tourists next year.Turkish Airlines at present is the only carrier offering direct flights from Kathmandu to Europe and beyond from its new Istanbul hub. It has been operating flights to and from  Kathmandu since 2013, and more than 90% of its passengers are bound for onward destinations in Europe and North America.“This is the just a part of long journey that Turkish Airlines will has undertaken in promoting Nepal,” said the carrier’s Nepal manager <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/interview/turkish-airlines-four-years-in-kathmandu,3973" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/interview/turkish-airlines-four-years-in-kathmandu,3973&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1576933289719000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFTdci0Oz-HAoH8Hg4XdyEkLZUK9Q">Abdullah Tuncer Kecici</a>. “This partnership will strengthen Turkish Airline’s promotion of Nepal through its destination advantage.”Turkish Airlines has one of the largest international networks flying to 320 destinations in 126 countries. And 43 of the 60 capital cities it flies to are within a 3.5 hour flying distance from the carrier’s Istanbul hub. Passengers from these cities can connect to anywhere in the world, including Kathmandu, through <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/turkish-airlines-istanbul-hub-is-humming/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/turkish-airlines-istanbul-hub-is-humming/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1576933289719000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHm7ghTbK1sifXieBeUyBQLYxx40A">Istanbul’s new airport</a>.“This is a strong partnership because at Visit Nepal Year we want to focus on airlines with direct flights to Europe for tourists,” said Suraj Vaidya of VNY2020, which has been engaged in promotion activities to prepare for the coming year with the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).Vaidya and Kecici signed a memorandum of understanding in Kathmandu on Friday detailing intensified promotion of Nepal at various travel trade fairs in the coming year. However, a deterrent for international carriers like Turkish is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/high-cost-lays-aviation-low-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/high-cost-lays-aviation-low-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1576933289719000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGXdBZRwrcW-HRUazyFXuACS_YPvQ">high operating cost at Kathmandu airport</a>, mainly because the aviation turbine fuel here is nearly twice as costly as in New Delhi or Bangkok.Vaidya pointed out that a one-way flight on Korean Air from Seoul to New Delhi is about $600, but Seoul-Kathmandu is more than $1,000. This is because of high ground handling and landing charges, high cost of refuelling, and planes having to burn extra fuel during long holds for landing at Kathmandu due to congestion.The price of jet fuel in Kathmandu is $1,000 per kL, almost double the cost in New Delhi and Dhaka ($525/kL) and much higher than in Beijing ($750/kL). Cost of ticketing, handling and landing fees are much more expensive in Kathmandu compared to other Asian airports. A widebody aircraft has to pay  $6,000 for ticketing and ground handling per flight, which is also twice the amount in Delhi or Bangkok. Landing charges are similarly 30% higher in Kathmndu than in other South Asian airports.“Kathmandu airport <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/kathmandu-airport-is-nepal-in-a-microcosm/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/kathmandu-airport-is-nepal-in-a-microcosm/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1576933289719000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEktvHnnT5kTNnyhMhcAyhS1UgLQQ">has seen some improvement</a>, and we will see more upgrades in the coming weeks,” Vaidya said. “However, the concerned authorities have to look into the high operating costs so that Nepal is a competitive destination for international airlines to fly to.”Other European carriers like Finnair have been scoping out Kathmandu flights, but they have been deterred by the European restrictions as well as high costs in Kathmandu, Vaidya added.He also said the government had formed a task force to look into removing the two-tier fares for foreigners and Nepalis in domestic flights as a further incentive to bring tourists to Nepal in 2020.Vaidya said there was also great potential for Turkish tourists to visit Nepal, as well as Nepalis vacationing in Turkey either as a destination or enroute from Kathmandu. He added that there is now a need for Nepal and Turkey to have embassies in each other’s countries to promote cultural and economic exchanges.

Turkish and Visit Nepal 2020 sign MoU

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151116/636a64a29c7e80680e0598eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="927" height="401"/>Thai International introduced Nepal to the jet age with its first regular flights between Bangkok and Kathmandu on 4 December 1968, and the airline is marking its 51st anniversary with a series of events this year.The first flight was by a Caravelle aircraft that flew from Bangkok to Kathmandu with a stopover in Calcutta. The plane deployed iconic parachute from its tail on landing to slow down the plane because of Kathmandu airport's elevation and short runway at the time.After that, Thai used DC-9s and the bigger four-engined Douglas DC-8 on the route, bringing Nepal closer to the rest of the world and promoting tourism in Nepal through its Asia-Pacific and Europe network. In the 1970s, Thai International had a management contract with SAS, sharing crew and aircraft, and aggressively promoted tourism to exotic Asian destinations like Bali and Kathmandu from Bangkok.Thai International was also the first airline to start widebody service to Nepal with the Airbus 310 and Airbus 300s, and 15 years ago started flying its new Boeing 777s to Kathmandu. It dropped its Calcutta stopover, and increased the frequency to daily flights with convenient connections to other destinations in the airline's network.

Thai marks 51 years in Nepal

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

India and Pakistan are twins separated at birth. Tensions between them have been at a hair trigger ever since independence and has erupted into full scale conflict at least four times in the past 80 years.
The 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 25 Indian tourists and a Nepali citizen, threatens to escalate tension between the two nuclear-armed nations. India has squarely blamed Pakistan for the attacks, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan has said it has credible intelligence of an Indian military strike and its officials have promised a “full spectrum” response — a code for a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/thinking-the-thinkable">nuclear retaliation</a>.
For Nepal, the killing of its national in the Pahalgam attack comes as another stark reminder that in conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq, from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-agree-an-armistice-in-ukraine">Ukraine</a> to Israel, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine">Nepalis are getting caught in the crossfire</a>. The last time full-scale fighting broke out between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> on Kargil in 1999, at least 22<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-trial-by-fire-for-soldiers-from-nepal?%27%5C%22="> Nepalis fighting for the Indian Army</a> were killed in action.
Three of Nepal’s immediate neighbours (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not have good relations. With China supplying weapons, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/war-and-warming">missile technology</a> and other support to Pakistan, this triangular friction could set off a regional conflagration.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> has calculated that even a week-long tactical nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would throw up so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun for years, and lead to a collapse of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grow-nourish-sustain-together-world-food-day">global food system</a>. This does not take into account the radioactive fallout that prevailing winds would blow up to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a>, contaminating glaciers that are the sources of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Asia’s main rivers</a>.
The impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>on High Asia was already ringing alarm bells about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">shrinking ice cap</a> reducing the dry season flow of water downstream. Water was going to be the next strategic commodity, geopolitical experts warned, and the next wars in Asia would be over water.
That water war is already happening. India retaliated to the Kashmir attack by suspending the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/india-pakistan-indus-waters-treaty.html" target="_blank">Indus Waters Treaty</a> of 1960 mediated by the World Bank that has withstood at least three wars between India and Pakistan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern tributaries of the Indus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beas_River" target="_blank">Beas</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_River" target="_blank">Ravi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej" target="_blank">Sutlej</a>), while Pakistan got water from the Indus and two of its western tributaries (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" target="_blank">Indus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenab_River" target="_blank">Chenab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhelum_River" target="_blank">Jhelum</a>.
Pakistan was assured of 70% of the annual flow, and India could use a reasonable amount of water for<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15231"> irrigation and hydropower</a>. &nbsp;Within days of its threat, India stopped water flowing down to Pakistan from the Chenab river and is reportedly preparing to do the same on the Jhelum.
The sabre-rattling has reached a crescendo. Besides threats and counter-threats there are also symbolic drills, with the Indian Air Force practicing landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh by its Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar fighter jets to demonstrate ‘operational readiness’. In response Pakistan test-fired its Abdali ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of 450km.&nbsp;
The danger is that with ultra-nationalist rhetoric and the beating the war drums by both sides, India’s government and Pakistan’s military may have to ‘do something’ to appease domestic public opinion. But any tactical strike, an artillery exchange, or territorial incursion could quickly escalate out of control.
Expecting an Indian retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan is using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/interfaith-collaboration-for-nuclear-disarmament"> nuclear deterrence </a>and warning of “catastrophic consequences”. The two neighbours came close to a nuclear exchange in 2019 after an attack on the Indian military in Kashmir, and prompt international intervention led by the United States cooled tensions.&nbsp;
This time, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump administration</a> is too distracted and not as engaged. Pakistan has denied it was responsible for the terrorist attack and called on Washington to stop a possible Indian retaliation. India and Pakistan have stopped overflights by each other’s airlines, and some international carriers have even stopped flying over Pakistan fearing an air war.
Washington, Beijing, the UN and the EU have all urged restraint. Iran, which has good relations with both India and Pakistan has sent its foreign minister to urge both countries not to go into a tit-for-tat war. Iran has its own nuclear flashpoint to worry about with tensions in Israel, &nbsp;Yemen and Syria.
India and Pakistan both share similar problems of joblessness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck">poverty </a>and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-new-threat-to-nepal-s-rhinos">environmental threats</a>. Neither side needs the threat of a senseless war, and we in the neighbourhood do not need it either.&nbsp;
Kunda Dixit
This Editorial is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

Nukes in the neighbourhood

Most Nepalis thought they had seen the last of it after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the 25 April 7.8 magnitude </a>earthquake ten years ago. But the Himalaya had more surprises in store. On 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude tremor that some said was an aftershock, but was strong enough to itself be a major earthquake, struck Dolakha.&nbsp; Not many people had heard of Singati till then — a cluster of houses by the Tama Kosi River along a narrow gorge that is the roadhead to Rolwaling Valley.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  It was here that dozens were killed on 25 April in the first earthquake. Hundreds of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati-rising-from-rubble-rebuilding,3703">Singati survivors</a> had lined up for food and relief supplies in the morning of 12 May when the second earthquake triggered a rock slide that buried a nearby camp. At least 50 people were killed. &nbsp; Three hours later, a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter landed in a nearby cornfield to pick up the wounded, and flew off. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control in Kathmandu and its wreckage was located high on Kalinchok four days later. Six American servicemen, two Nepal Army soldiers, and five wounded civilians from Singati were killed. Today, Singati bears little physical scar of the multiple tragedies that struck the town ten years ago. Most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bungamati-builds-back">houses have been rebuilt</a> as urban-style concrete structures, and Singati has become an economic hub on the road leading up to several hydropower plants and a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/off-the-beaten-trek-in-nepal"> popular trekking destination</a>.&nbsp; The town looks less like a village and more like a suburb of the Dolakha district headquarter of Charikot, 47km away.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  “The demand for construction material, cement, iron rods and bricks peaked after the earthquakes,” says Suresh Khadka, who owns a hardware business here and now supplies material to the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower project that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by a landslide last year. The demand for cement boomed since most residents believe, not necessarily correctly, that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">cement houses are safer</a>. Although Khadka did well selling construction material after the earthquake, he worries that most new structures do not follow seismic-resistant building codes.&nbsp; The construction boom financed by bank loans has in turn forced many from Singati to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas for work</a> so they can service their debt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Suresh Khadka</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Phu Doma Sherpa (right)</figcaption> </figure>  “My family had no choice but to borrow money to rebuild our home since the government compensation was not enough, and ten years later we are still paying off the loan,” says Phu Doma Sherpa, 60. Because of the shortage of qualified masons and proper seismic engineering, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/structural-problems">many of the buildings are of questionable building standards </a>and the traditional architecture has been abandoned, admits Kul Bahadur Budathoki, deputy chair of the municipality. “But these buildings were more expensive than what the government grants could cover, many people here are heavily in debt and the men have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-day-is-closer-to-pay-day">migrated to the Gulf to pay their loans</a>,” Budathoki says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480" data-rendition-name="original" width="1501" height="1079" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Kul Bahadur Budathoki</figcaption> </figure>  Singati is in a multi-hazard zone. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati,3091">12 May 2015 earthquake </a>could have led to the collapse of Nepal’s largest glacial lake, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Tso Rolpa</a>, upstream. Due to global warming, the glacier has turned into an expanding lake 3.5km long, and its collapse would have unleashed a catastrophic Himalayan tsunami down the Tama Kosi Valley, with Singati directly in its path. Singati has literally risen from the ashes of 2015, with its residents beginning to recover from the trauma and financial toll. But it is not out of danger as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>magnifies the risk from future earthquakes.

Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;

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