Beijing Television Cultural Center fire

The TVCC building after the fire

The Beijing Municipal Fire Brigade confirmed that the cause of fire was the illegal use of highly explosive fireworks at the construction site. CCTV later apologized to the public for the inconvenience, mainly traffic re-direction, they caused.[16] The Fire Brigade said that the fire began on the building's roof and spread to the lower floors, fed by high winds. Toxic fumes and a lack of working sprinklers were said to have hampered efforts to extinguish the fire.[18]

An amateur video that was uploaded on the Internet showed the fire starting after a shell from the fireworks landed on the roof of the uncompleted construction.[18] One CNN report noted that "the top of the building was exploding". Another observed that the fire spread quickly and that the tower was completely engulfed in flames within less than 13 minutes. "It was obvious that there was a lot of debris on site, [which] ignited very quickly".[19]

No detailed damage estimate was released. The hotel is insured for US$220 million, with the actual amount of the payout to be decided after the police investigation ends.[20] Immediately after the fire, seventeen people were detained, including the head of construction of the CCTV headquarters site, three additional CCTV staffers, the driver who transported the fireworks, four persons who helped guide the shipment to evade police checkpoints, and eight employees of the fireworks company who set off the display.[20]

According to Caijing, the actual cost of the fireworks display was CNY350,000; however, CCTV was billed 1 million for it by a legal entity controlled by Xu Wei, the construction manager. Xu himself is alleged to have received a commission of CNY80,000.[21]

State media announced in early February 2010 that 71 people were being held responsible for the building fire, including head of CCTV Zhao Huayong, who retired in May 2009; the State Council had evaluated direct economic losses at 163.83 million yuan (US$23.99 million). Of the 71 held responsible, 27 would not be prosecuted but would suffer party and administrative disciplinary measures. Zhao would receive an administrative demotion along with a severe warning from the Communist Party of China.[22] In late February, AFP cited an official in Beijing Number Two Intermediate Court who confirmed 23 people have been charged in the incident. Xu Wei is among those due to be tried, according to state media.[23]

A memo from government officials, which was posted on the Internet, made clear that authorities were eager to downplay the blaze, "a colossal embarrassment that many people believe augurs poorly for the new year", according to The New York Times.[18] The leaked memo read: "No photos, no video clips, no in-depth reports," and further, "The news should be put on news areas only and the comments posting areas should be closed".[18]

No images of the blaze or the building were broadcast on state television, and the Xinhua website sidelined the story.[18] CCTV later reported the news with a video on its website after the fire.[24]

Li Xiguang, journalism professor at Beijing's Tsinghua University said the decision not to show coverage was "stupid" and damaged the credibility of CCTV.[25]

James Fallows of The Atlantic wrote that "the perils of the fireworks and firecrackers are more than a joke.... that people responsible appear to have been CCTV employees; and that the whole subsequent matter of investigating, publicizing, making sense of, and drawing omens from an unignorable spectacle involving the country's leading propaganda/communication outlet and the city's most distinctive new landmark will say a lot about the emotional and political state of China right now."[26]

Chinese netizens became busy finding humor in an otherwise tragic situation and spreading Photoshopped images, mostly at CCTV's expense. A large number of commentaries and spoofs (often using the trendy image of Grass Mud Horse) also reflect netizens' common critical view of CCTV as a powerful and monopoly state-run propaganda machine. Some of the sharper and more critical posts were quickly being deleted by the authorities, but many humorous images and cartoons are being widely distributed.[27]

Jeremy Goldkorn of the Los Angeles Times, who was the editor of a website that tracks Chinese media, said, "[A]mong China's young, educated and urban, the stodgy network (CCTV) has long been a subject of ridicule, both for its low production values and its propagandistic news coverage....But the fire—which engulfed what was to be the Mandarin Oriental hotel, a dramatic, angular tower that stands next to the now-iconic CCTV building—provided a new touchstone for critics, prompting the government to move quickly to mute the outrage."[28]

Despite the lack of images on the state media, photographs and videotapes of the fire, taken with cameras and cellphones, swiftly found their way to blogs and forums including major portals such as Sina, Sohu, and Youku.[29]

Media reported that Chinese citizens on the internet were taking sarcastic and comical pot-shots at CCTV. It noted there was "a storm" of criticism that the state broadcaster which created one of the year's biggest news stories failed to report the event promptly, or honestly.[4] Parodies of the incident were also rampant, including edited images often relating to other Chinese internet memes, such as the Grass Mud Horse.[30]

The Beijing Television Cultural Center as seen in July 2011. Construction has resumed after the fire.

The initial images of the blaze suggested that the tower might be nearly destroyed. However Rem Koolhaas said that "they are simply rebuilding it as it was, because there was no structural damage."

The complex's main building, the doughnut-shaped structure, was not damaged. The building, which was originally scheduled to open in 2009, did not see any progress towards opening or being visibly repaired by the end of that year. It is currently being repaired,[31] and is still slated to open.

Mandarin Oriental Beijing was only postponed due to the fire at CCTV's new site. At present, the specific opening time has not yet been known. It is reported that another Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Wangfujing will open first. In addition, the demolition work of Xinyuan Building No. 3 on the north side of the hotel has not been completed (11 years have passed), so the opening hours of CCTV's Mandarin Oriental Hotel will continue to be postponed. The No. 3 Building of Hujialou Xinyuan has also been transformed into a residential building in the core area of the CBD. This has caused great pain and inconvenience to the residents. Since CCTV is still in accordance with the 2001 compensation standard, compared with the rapid development of housing prices today, the gap is huge, so there are still nearly 100 residents in the building. Since the fire in 2009, CCTV has replaced five directors before and after, but it has no question about the demolition of the unfinished residential building.