Holy ritual: A woman worships in the courtyard of the Jin De Yuan Temple in North Jakarta.

Several people were engaged in prayers at the Jin De Yuan or Kim Tek Ie temple in North Jakarta.

The Dharma Bhakti, the Indonesian name for Kim Tek Ie temple, caught fire in March 2015 and the ruins of its main chamber were covered with zinc sheets to prevent people from entering the location as the charred walls, wooden pillars and roof could easily collapse.

'€œIt reopened not long after the fire,'€ an old man explained.

Several prayer chambers and dozens of kimsins (effigies of gods) used to be inside the temple area. Before the fire, the temple had a solemn atmosphere, with the walls, altars and pillars dominated by red and golden colors and decorated with classic Chinese ornaments and carvings.

There was also calligraphy and altars, bells and incense holders (hiolo), which were made during the 18th and 19th centuries.

However, most of them were destroyed by the fire '€” only a few were saved, including the kimsin of Kwan Im, the Goddess of Mercy.

Marks of fire: The temple'€™s main chamber is seen from the back.

The fire was a blow to the culture and history of the city and country. The temple was built in 1650 in the Glodok area by a Chinese lieutenant Kwee Hoen or Guo Xun-Gan to honor Goddess Kwan Im, initially giving the temple the name Kwan Im Teng or Kwan Im Pavilion.

Kwan Im Teng once was burnt and destroyed by the Dutch following the Chinese community'€™s rebellion in 1740 but it was rebuilt in 1755 by Chinese captain Oey Tjie, who named the temple Jin De Yuan or Temple of Golden Virtue.

Following the latest fire, the general secretary of the temple'€™s Wihara Dharma Bhakti Foundation Mulia Soenardi said they had met Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama to discuss the rebuilding plan.

Rebuilding the Jin De Yuan in its original design was a complex project as it required sufficient information about the original interior and exterior designs as well as the initial ornaments, carvings, kimsins and worship objects.

It is, however, an important effort to preserve not only the cultural and historical heritage of Jakarta, but also the identity of the city '€” showing that it has long been a melting pot of different cultures.

'€œPak Ahok said that the Jakarta administration would ease administrative procedures for the rebuilding process. He also ensured that road expansion plans in this area would not affect the temple as Jin De Yuan is a cultural heritage building,'€ said Mulia.

'€œWe did not ask for government funding, we will rebuild the temple with funds from worshippers instead.'€

While showing the pictures of Jin De Yuan during the 18th and 19th centuries, he said that the temple would be rebuilt with its original design and that construction would commence after the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 8 this year.

'€” Photos by Muhammad Farid