Singapore-based photographer Ju Shen Lee’s images capture the rapturous beauty of the Patan Durbar Square and the life around it—the intangible cultural heritage of the people who inhabit the surroundings and worship at this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

All through natural light, Ju Shen works before dawn and late into the night to capture her human, animal and architectural subjects as well as the images from Ashtamatrika dance in the Patan Mulchowk.

This photographer’s interest is in capturing the beating heart of the city and the palimpsest of cultural heritage that envelopes it.

For each image shown here, Ju Shen takes dozens more that she discards. She is a perfectionist with a heart the size of Kathmandu Valley. It is this combination that results in such stunning, memorable images.

She is currently working with the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), an entity that, for the last 35 years, has been conserving and protecting Nepal's intangible cultural heritage by restoring and rebuilding the tangible cultural heritage that is inextricably linked with our daily life, rituals and traditions. The KVPT works with artisans and bricks and mortar, but also produces extensive documentation in the form of architectural drawings, literature, and photographic images for future restorations, in the event of natural disasters, and now, climate change.

Captured for the Trust by Ju Shen Lee, here in Kathmandu for two months to document these riches for posterity.