"Notre" in French means "our", while "dame" means "lady." Thus "Notre-Dame" for French people, is "Our Lady." Yes, our lady. 

And she was nearly destroyed by a fire.

I was a student at the Sorbonne University-The architectural complex stands right in the blocks next to the "Notre-Dame" Cathedral in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Every time when I got off the subway of St. Michel, I could see the cathedral if I turned my head. Every time, which was quite usual and I never thought to cherish it.

And this time, I could only see its collapse by a video clip on the internet.

And old Chinese saying goes: "We have seen the grandeur architecture being built up; we have seen they were entertaining guests inside the building; And we have also seen the collapse of that splendid complex."

Shocked, angry, sad. All these feelings suddenly filled my heart. 

Centuries of history: two calamitous world wars, bubonic plague as well as the French Revolution. Its mighty bells clanged at momentous junctures — when Paris was liberated from the Nazis in 1944, and in tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But suddenly it erupted in flames.

Then I finally came down to think of why. French authorities said the flames maybe caused by restoration work and there was no sign it was caused on purpose. Most of the paintings and antiquities inside the building have been saved. Many of them were rescued by volunteers and firefighters. They're kept in the Louvre Museum and will be restored. And French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild the medieval masterpiece. More than 800 million US dollars have already been pledged by people around the world, to help with reconstruction.

But how many years will the repair works take? Roger Lewis, Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Architecture in the United States, said the restoration may take 10-15 years.

"The roof structure is made of wood, it can be reconstructed, even less in five years. They still need to make sure everything is stable, they still need to work on safety and stability," said Lewis.

Notre Dame was constructed in 1163 during the reign of King Louis VII and was completed in 1345. The cathedral has witnessed some of the most important moments in the history. That includes Henry VI of England being crowned inside the cathedral in 1431 and Napoleon Bonaparte being crowned Emperor of France in 1804.

The cathedral receives 12 to 13 million visitors a year and is home to countless paintings, sculptures and other priceless works of art. That's 800 years of history of people making pilgrimages there, and worshiping there, and the accumulation of culture—so how about the next 800 years? We should never say "goodbye" to Notre-Dame, never say "goodbye" to the priceless treasure, of human culture.

(Cover: Smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris as the spire collapses April 15, 2019./Xinhua Photo)