Rasuwa Fort
रसुवागढी
Rasuwa Fort in the foreground, Chinese customs building in the background
Alternative nameRasuwa Gadhi
LocationRasuwa District, Nepal
Coordinates28°16′40″N 85°22′40″E / 28.2778°N 85.3778°E / 28.2778; 85.3778
History
Founded1855 AD
(Nepal Sambat 1912)
PeriodsRana dynasty

Rasuwa Fort or Rasuwa Gadhi (Nepali: रसुवागढी) is a historical fort ruin in the Rasuwa District of Nepal roughly at the border with Tibet, China.[1] It is located along the Trishuli River 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the Nepalese town of Timure in Langtang National Park, yet 25 km south of the nearest locality of China at Gyirong Town.

A trekking permit obtained in Kathmandu will allow tourists to visit the border, but not to cross the bridge into Tibet.

History

1792 battle as depicted in Chinese painting

The area was the site of a three-day battle during the second campaign of Sino-Nepalese War in July 1792.[2][3] In 1855 during the Rana dynasty when Jung Bahadur Rana invaded Qing-ruled Tibet in Nepalese–Tibetan War, the fort was constructed on the site.[4][2]

In 2012, Nepal and China agreed to open new border crossings, Rasuwagadhi site being one of the crossings.[5] The fort was damaged during the construction of border crossing in 2013.[6] In December 2014, the port of entry was opened near the fort.[7] This route between China (via Gyirong Town / Kyirong on the Chinese side) and Nepal was considered to be more reliable than the crossing through Zhangmu–Kodari.[8]

References

  1. ^ "The Tibet Train". nepalitimes.atavist.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-18.
  2. ^ a b Cowan, Sam (Fall 2013). "All Change at Rasuwa Garhi". Himalaya. 33 (1). Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  3. ^ Boulnois, L. (1989). "Chinese Maps and Prints on the Tibet-Gorkha War of 1788-92". University of Cambridge. p. 93. Retrieved 4 March 2022. It was these five regiments which arrived before the destroyed bridge, in Sravan, 1849 Vikram Samvat, July 1792, according to D. R. Regmi, in the 8th month (July) according to Wei Yuan; according to Weizang-tongzhi, the battle was fought on July 15th. According to Kirkpatrik the battle lasted three days.
  4. ^ Lim, Francis Khek Gee (2008). Imagining the Good Life: Negotiating Culture and Development in Nepal Himalaya. Brill. ISBN 978-9004167872. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  5. ^ 中华人民共和国政府和尼泊尔政府关于边境口岸及其管理制度的协定 [China-Nepal Agreement on Port of Entry] (in Chinese). Chinese Embassy in Nepal. 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2017-02-10. 热索瓦根底
  6. ^ Shakya, Bikram (July 25, 2013). "Rasuwagadhi fort falling apart". newsbikram.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  7. ^ Murton, Galen (March 2016). "A Himalayan Border Trilogy: The Political Economies of Transport Infrastructure and Disaster Relief between China and Nepal". Cross-Currents E-Journal. ISSN 2158-9674. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  8. ^ "Rasuwa-Kerung road spells new heights in trade - Timure". Timure. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
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