At 12 noon on December 10th, a sudden fire broke out in Jiulong Temple, a temple under construction in Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province, which destroyed the tallest wooden tower in Asia. As of press time, the latest report from the Mianzhu Municipal Government Information Office said that the fire had been extinguished at 4: 30 pm on the 10th. The fire caused the Daxiong Hall, the Ancestral Hall and the Pilufo Pagoda of Jiulong Temple to burn down, with an area of over 800 square meters and no casualties.
A sudden fire broke out in Jiulong Temple in Mianzhu, Sichuan.
At noon on December 10, a raging fire exploded the circle of friends of many Sichuan netizens. According to several videos taken by netizens on the spot, it was a temple that caught fire. In the video, the main hall of the temple and a tower building were swallowed up by the fire, with thick smoke rolling, and there were many houses around the temple.
Beijing Youth Daily reporter found that the temple where the fire broke out was called Jiulong Temple, located in Xinlong Village, jiulong town, Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province. Ms. Wang, a staff member of Xinlong Village Committee, said that her family lived 200 meters away from Jiulong Temple. After the fire, she and many villagers went to the scene to help maintain order.
Ms. Wang said that when she arrived at the scene, it was about 12: 30, only two halls were on fire, and the wooden tower was not on fire. However, because the fire in the hall near the wooden tower was too strong and there was wind at that time, "the wind blew the flame to the second floor on the wooden tower, and the tower was also on fire." She said that many villagers at the scene dialed 119, and firefighters arrived at the scene in about 20 minutes.
The fire lasted four hours and was brought under control.
At 2: 40 pm that day, the official Weibo of the Information Office of the People’s Government of Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province issued a notice saying that a fire broke out in Jiulong Temple, jiulong town, Mianzhu City at 12: 39 on December 10, 2017. No casualties have been found so far. The cause of the accident is under investigation and relevant information will be notified to the public in time.
Ms. Wang told the reporter of Beiqing Daily that the temple on fire had not been built and was not open to tourists, so it was mostly staff. "Plus it was lunch time, many people went to eat, so no one was hurt. According to the builder, all the wood of this wooden tower is imported from Russia. Many people are lamenting that hundreds of millions of yuan will be burned after a meal. "
The fire that engulfed two halls and a wooden tower was finally basically controlled after 4 hours. At 8: 08 pm on the 10th, the Information Office of Mianzhu Municipal Government issued a fire report saying that the fire had been extinguished at 4: 30 pm. The fire caused the Daxiong Hall, the Ancestral Hall and the Pilufo Pagoda of Jiulong Temple to burn down, with an area of over 800 square meters and no casualties.
At present, a comprehensive investigation of the fire scene is being carried out to prevent subsequent accidents. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Reconstruction of Temple System after "5.12" Earthquake
Ms. Wang told the reporter of Beiqing Daily that Jiulong Temple has always been called "Lingguan Building" in the local area. It is said that Lingguan Building was built in the Chongzhen period of Ming Dynasty, when Liu Yuliang, the prime minister’s first assistant, commemorated Tianguan. — Built by Wang Lingguan.
Jiang Qi, who was born and raised in jiulong town, told the reporter of Beiqing Daily that the Lingguan Building was originally a Taoist building, but later it declined and was converted into a school. "I was a kindergarten there when I was a child. At that time, there would be incense at the entrance of the kindergarten."
According to the official bulletin of Mianzhu City, Jiulong Temple is a Buddhist religious place approved by the religious department of Mianzhu City, located in jiulong town, Mianzhu City, 7 kilometers away from the urban area. The temples were completely destroyed in the "May 12th" earthquake in 2008, and reconstruction began in 2010.
According to local media reports, the rebuilt Jiulong Temple covers an area of more than 20 mu and consists of seven golden halls. Among them, the wooden tower destroyed by the fire has been built for 8 years, adopting the traditional mortise and tenon structure in China, with a total height of 16 stories, which is known as "the tallest wooden tower in Asia".
A photo of the Kowloon Temple Hall provided by Jiang Qi shows that the plaque of "Lingguan Building" is hung on the second floor of the two-story hall, and the plaque of "Ancient Wuyin Temple" is hung on the first floor. The roof of the hall is painted gold, and red lanterns are hung in front of the corridor. Now, the exquisite antique building in this photo has ceased to exist before it can meet the tourists.
Text/reporter Li Zhuoya