Nepal, Nov. 15 -- When Han Suyin, the Chinese-born Eurasian writer, arrived in Nepal in 1956 to attend King Mahendra's coronation, she was inspired to write the book 'The Mountain is Young', which captured the fragments of Kathmandu's coming-out party and the boozy world of Boris Lissanevitch, who opened Nepal to the world.

Three years earlier, in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay had conquered Everest, placing Nepal firmly on the global map-a time when Nepal was emerging from a tumultuous past and centuries of isolation to engage with the modern world. Those years marked the dawn of the modern mountaineering era and growing fascination with the Himalayas.

Meanwhile, to the north, another seismic shift was underway: Mao's Communis...