Some buildings on the west side of the 720-year-old Huguo Temple in Beijing were damaged or destroyed in a fire that broke out early Sunday morning. No injuries were reported.

The fire began at around 2 AM at a western side hall in the compound, which is located in the capital city’s historic Xicheng District.

The remains of the roof beams of the 187-square-meter hall are blackened. A portion of the eastern roof ridge is still covered with gray tiles, but the remainder has collapsed and only a charred frame remains of the building.

A clothing factory occupied the hall about eight years ago. The fire was caused by electrical sparks from a transformer in the factory, according to an official with the city’s Bureau for the Preservation of Cultural and Historical Relics, although the investigation is still ongoing. Firefighters declared the blaze out at about 4:00 AM.

The Huguo (“Protecting the Nation”) Temple was originally built in 1284, during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1386), as a residence of a prime minister. After undergoing renovations and various name changes over the centuries, in 1722 a Mongolian official renovated the temple and renamed it Huguo. It is also widely known as West Temple, a mirror of the East Temple, whose official name is Longfu Temple.

In addition to the main Jingang Hall, 10 buildings remain on the site.

Jingang Hall was placed on the city-level cultural relics protection list in 1984. The remaining buildings receive district-level protection. The western side hall was nevertheless more than 700 years old.

“The fire sets off alarms in the field of cultural relics protection,” said Ji Xiaoping, director of the Xicheng District culture commission. “Huguo Temple was very famous in history. If we had restored its original appearance, the ancient buildings would have become a fine historic site and would not have been destroyed.” However, most of the old temple halls were subsumed into the residential area that sprung up around them. Ji suggested that restoring the ancient structures would avoid their destruction and deterioration.

Mei Ninghua, director of Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau, inspected Jingang Hall Sunday, saying that great care should be taken to prevent fire. He asked the appropriate departments to renovate the hall as soon as possible.

(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn June 21, 2004)