A major fire gutted the Lingxiao Hall at Taipei's Zhinan Temple, one of the city's best-known temples, though nobody was hurt.

• The blaze broke out Sunday night and burned for hours before firefighters put it out after midnight.
• The ground floor is completely destroyed and a third of the second floor is damaged.
• Wooden construction, burning incense and paper offerings, narrow mountain roads, and little nearby water made the fire hard to fight.
• Several statues were damaged, but others upstairs survived; the cause is still unknown.
• Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an set up a single city office to help the temple rebuild and speed up permit reviews.

Outlook: The temple will stay open apart from the burned hall while investigators determine the cause and rebuilding plans take shape.