Readers in Beijing may have seen smoke billowing from a fire north of the city earlier today. It was caused by a traffic collision in the middle of an intersection near the famous Bird’s Nest stadium at the north entrance to Huizhongli in the city’s Chaoyang District.

It happened this morning at around 9:15. From the way the black SUV T-boned the silver sedan, it appears as though one of the drivers had run a red light.

No injuries have been reported.

The post Collision Near Beijing’s Birds Nest Stadium Sends Plumes of Smoke Into Sky appeared first on The Nanfang.

The fire broke out yesterday afternoon on the south slope of Dahei Mountain at around two o’clock in Dalian’s Jinzhou county area. Area residents were all evacuated, with the closest home located not 500 meters away from the fire.

Around 300 professional forest firefighters were deployed and managed to extinguish the blaze by 5:50pm. Eyewitnesses say the fire spread quickly due to heavy wind conditions.

A firefighter in charge of the operation suspects the fire was caused by a campfire at a picnic site. An official investigation is pending.

At 663 meters high, Dahei Mountain is the only mountain in south Liaoning, and is revered as a location of great cultural and spiritual value.

The post Picnic in Dalian Leads to Deadly Brush Fire appeared first on The Nanfang.

A large fire broke out today at the Huaneng power plant in Beijing, near Wangsiying and Sihui on Fifth Ring Road in Chaoyang District sending thick, black smoke high into the sky. A number of fire trucks were on the scene.

Beijing police have said that no one was injured in the fire that started at 2:50pm, and was extinguished around 4pm.

Eyewitnesses said the smoke, which can be seen up to 10km away, had spread out to the sixth ring road during the fire.

According to its website, Huaneng power plant was built in 1999 and provides electricity to 10 percent of the city of Beijing.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. An investigation is pending.

The post Fire at Power Plant Sending Plumes of Black Smoke Over Beijing appeared first on The Nanfang.

In the grand tradition of a “girl’s night out”, Shenzhen resident Miss Jie and her friend went to Guangzhou for dinner and a spa massage treatment on February 8. However, things didn’t go according to plan when a fire broke out on Jie’s back.

Miss Jie was undergoing the Chinese practice of firecupping, something of a cross between massage and moxibustion. When undergoing firecupping, the client lies face down with their back exposed, much like when getting a massage. However, instead of manually applying pressure to the back using hands or other instruments, firecupping is used.

A combustible item is placed inside a small, glass jar, and is then ignited and extinguished in quick succession before being placed upon the client’s back. Because the remnants of the fire is still absorbing oxygen within the jar (or cup), it creates a suction when coming into contact with the victim’s skin. Firecupping is thought to provide therapeutic benefits to its users.

READ: Man Goes For A Massage In Shenzhen, Leaves Paralyzed

In Miss Jie’s case, her firecupping treatment was using alcohol as a fuel instead of paper, a more commonly used item. Miss Jie said she had been undergoing the treatment for 20 minutes when she suddenly felt something cold on her back. That “cold feeling” was alcohol coming into contact with her skin, which was then ignited by an open flame. Jie’s companion, Miss Chen, said the flames on Jie’s back reached ten centimeters tall.

The hotel at which Jie had the firecupping service performed has accepted responsibility for the accident and has agreed to pay Jie’s medical bills. General Operations Manager of the Guangzhou Shuishanfang Hotel Miss Wu admitted that the technician providing the firecupping used too much alcohol. However, Wu also added that the accident was also due to a deficiency in the cupping jar, causing it to crack and leak alcohol over Miss Jie’s back.

READ: Setting Yourself On Fire? It’s a Form of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Wu wouldn’t admit to the press that the technician was improperly qualified, saying the all technicians are internally trained. However, Wu did say that they have voluntarily suspended their company’s own certification for the time being.

Massages, firecupping, and other similar services are not expensive in China. At the Shuishanfang Hotel, Jie paid for a package deal that featured backcupping, foot massage and other services for just RMB 68.

Related:

• No Lights Off, No Private Rooms, and Other New Massage Rules in Guangdong
• Shenzhen Masseuse Beaten for Refusing to Provide Sexual Services

The post Routine Massage Treatment Ends When a Woman is Accidentally Set on Fire in Guangzhou appeared first on The Nanfang.

This isn’t the first time karaoke dens have gone up in flames. In July 2009, the owner of a Zhejiang karaoke parlor was jailed for 10 days after a fire trapped 18 people that had to be rescued.

Then in September 2011, Henan authorities shut down 253 entertainment establishments for violating fire regulations that included a Zhengzhou karaoke bar equipped with a fire hose that didn’t have any water.

Photos: Sohu, Yangcheng Evening Report, CCTV, Xinhua

The post KTV Palace in Henan Goes Up in Flames Around Midnight Killing 11 appeared first on The Nanfang.

Guilin’s famous Sun and Moon Pagodas caught on fire at 7:57 this morning, on the same day a national holiday kicks off that would have seen thousands of visitors. A tall plume of black smoke was seen billowing from one of its structures.

The Sun and Moon Pagodas were originally based on Tang dynasty designs, but were rebuilt in 2001. As a tourist attraction, it is famous for its night time display of gold and silver lights.

Firefighters have already extinguished the fire, and damage to the tourist attraction is still being assessed. A preliminary investigation says the fire was caused by an electrical problem involving the artificial lanterns used at night.

Several photographs show the tourist attraction on fire:

For comparison, here’s what the Sun and Moon Pagodas usually looks like:

Photos: Yangtse Evening Report, baohuasi, yododod

The post [Photos] Famous Guilin Tourist Landmark Engulfed in Flames appeared first on The Nanfang.

The factory was razed to the ground in a fire that lasted until the following morning, with explosions still being reported at 8am. Zhang Ping, who went to the site to look for his wife, saw this:

When I arrived at the site of the explosion, the sound was so loud it was rattling the heavens. There was a lot of fire at the factory with smoke everywhere. The roof of the factory had completely collapsed, and there was rubble everywhere.

The explosion was compounded by other problems in the village that day. When firefighters tried to drive to the factory, the six meter wide fire access road leading to the factory was blocked.

Resident Yi Jiacai said:

Originally, fire trucks could take this road to get to the factory for rescue; now, they had to take a detour in order to get to the scene.

Xia Ligen, who had a family member injured in the blast, said a dispute had arisen from the auctioning of the road in which local residents were harassed by criminal gangs.

The investigation into the cause of the factory explosion is still pending, but details have emerged revealing a systematic disregard for safety.

An unnamed person claimed:

Many hidden dangers of varying degrees exist at this firework factory. Any time officials come to make a safety inspection, the village cadre makes a phone call to notify the factory, and then all the workers leave.

Photos: Xinhua Network

The post Fireworks Factory Accused of Hiding Safety Hazards Before Deadly Explosion appeared first on The Nanfang.

The fire was brought under control by firefighters by 6pm. No injuries were reported.

The fire was apparently an accident. Construction workers accidentally ignited a layer of insulation in the walls, which spread quickly. It grew to about 600 square meters in size. The cost of the fire has yet to be determined.

Built by the Chinese Railroad No. 12 Department, the Kumul Railway Station was to be the second-largest train station in Xinjiang. Set to be completed by the end of this month, the station was to become operational by the end of the year by providing passengers with high-speed rail service.

Construction on the Kumul Railway Station began in 2012 with the main structure completed in October 2013. The facility featured a total space of 99.97 million square meters and cost RMB 160 million.

The development of transportation infrastructure in Xinjiang is indicative of the area’s double-digit growth rate, but hasn’t alleviated the area’s growing ethnic tensions between Han Chinese and the Uighur minority. Transportation hubs such as train stations have been targeted in bomb and knife attacks that have killed dozens of people.

Reza Hasmath, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Oxford, has said  “Infrastructure-based development has not been successful in improving meaningful interactions between Hans and Uighurs.”

Here is a video of the fire:

Photos: People’s Daily

The post New Xinjiang Train Station Destroyed By Massive Blaze Just Before Official Opening appeared first on The Nanfang.

The magnitude of the blaze is reflected in the city’s massive response to contain it. The city has dispatched 11 firefighting stations and one major firefighting team to the scene, encompassing a total of 33 vehicles and 193 firefighting personnel.

This Sinopec refinery is capable of distilling 300,000 tons of fuel a year.

UPDATE 12:53 pm August 4: This post has been updated with more photographs.

Photos: Sina Guangdong, Sina News Video (2), Sina Sichuan

The post Major Fire Breaks Out at Sinopec Facility in Gansu Province appeared first on The Nanfang.

A explosion at a factory in Jiangsu has killed at least 75 workers and injured another 185, reports People’s Daily.

The explosion took place this morning at 7:37 in the developmental zone of Kunshan, Jiangsu Province at the Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Production Company.

At the time of the explosion, there were over 200 people reportedly working at the factory.

The explosion occurred in the polishing area of the workshop where preliminary findings suspect that dust is the cause of the explosion.

According to the official website of the Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Production Company, the company has a total of 450 workers who are tasked with electroplating alloy wheel hubs.

The company is said to be a supplier for US auto manufacturer General Motors. Its location consists of 50,000 square meters of factory space, and was established in 1998.

The force of the explosion was powerful enough to cause serious damage to the factory. With one exterior wall collapsed, the blast has punctured two holes through the middle of the workshop wall while other areas are so severely damaged that only steel reinforcement bars remain. In a 50 meter diameter of the blast, shattered glass can be seen everywhere.

Xinhua reports that Kunshan government representatives have stated two company personnel have been detained due to the explosion.

The cause of the explosion still under investigation.

Five burn experts from Shanghai Ruijin Hospital have gone to Kunshan to lend support and expertise.

More pictures from the explosion are shown below:

UPDATE 1, 9pm August 2: This report has been updated with a new death toll and number of injured.

UPDATE 2, 10:30 am August 4: This report has been updated with a new death toll.

UPDATE 3, 12:11 pm August 4: This report has been updated with a new death toll and number of injured.

Photos: People’s Daily (2), Xinhua Net (2), Caijing, Sina (2), CCTV News

The post Photos: 75 Dead in Jiangsu Factory Explosion [GRAPHIC, UPDATED] appeared first on The Nanfang.