Town seeks to preserve past despite fire

Immersed in a cloud of sawdust, carpenter Dainzhen Lhamo vigorously gouged scratches into a newly carved door using a steel brush, marring the entrance to a half-finished wooden house in the town of Dukezong.

As the 1,300-year-old town rebuilds from the ashes of a fire that destroyed 300 houses in January last year, its residents are clinging to the timeworn facades of their ancient homes.

Before Dainzhen Lhamo is finished with the door, he will carve wormholes and give it a new coat of paint.