/ Staff writer, with CNATaipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an （蔣萬安） yesterday pledged the city government’s full support for rebuilding Lingxiao Hall （凌霄寶殿） at Zhinan Temple （指南宮） in the Muzha （木柵） area after a fire ravaged the 60-year-old Taoist structure the previous night.請繼續往下閱讀...During an inspection of the site with Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua （林奕華） and temple officials, Chiang said the city would establish a cross-agency task force to coordinate restoration efforts and provide administrative assistance to help the temple rebuild the hall as soon as possible.“No one was injured, which is fortunate amid the tragedy,” Chiang said.The fire broke out at about 8:48pm on Monday at the well-known temple’s Lingxiao Hall in Taipei’s Wenshan District （文山） and was extinguished at 12:09am yesterday after burning for more than three hours.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.The Taipei Fire Department said the blaze damaged about 1,500m2 of the structure, destroying the first floor and damaging about one-third of the second floor.Officials said the hall’s wooden structure and combustible materials, such as incense and joss paper, contributed to the rapid spread of flames.The temple’s mountainous location, narrow roads and limited water supply also created difficulties, they said.The fire was brought under control at 10:07pm on Monday, followed by several hours of mopping-up operations and cooling work.The Taipei Department of Civil Affairs would lead a one-stop coordination mechanism involving the fire, cultural affairs, urban development and building management authorities, Chiang said.After the fire investigation, experts would determine which parts of the damaged hall should be preserved and which can be removed, the mayor said.Zhinan Temple Management Committee chairman Kao Chao-wen （高超文） said the Sanqing Hall （三清殿） and Tai Sui Hall （太歲寶殿） sections were the worst-affected areas, statues including the Three Pure Ones （Sanqing Daozu, 三清道祖） and the Queen Mother of the West （Yaochi Jinmu, 瑤池金母） were damaged.Statues of the 60 Tai Sui deities on the rear of the first floor and the Jade Emperor on the second floor remained intact, Kao said.He said temple officials were to discuss restoration plans later yesterday.While Lingxiao Hall has been closed off, the rest of the temple remains open, he added.The temple is one of Taipei’s most well-known religious sites, with a history dating to about 1890.It primarily worships Lu Dongbin （呂洞賓）, also known as Fuyou Dijun （孚佑帝君）, one of the Eight Immortals in Taoism.The damaged Lingxiao Hall was constructed from 1963 to 1966, and was among Taiwan’s early large-scale modern Taoist structures, featuring six stories and a reinforced concrete design.新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
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