Ancient town catches fire in China's Shangri-la
An ancient town in China's Southwestern Yunnan province has been burning throughout the night.
The 1,300-year old Dukezong Old Town in Shangri-La caught fire early Saturday morning, and fire-fighters were still battling the blaze at 8 am.
Local officials said the fire started from a little shop near the center of the old town. Police received the report at 1:27 am and 2,000 firefighters rushed to the rescue.
As at 8 am, they were still working on extinguishing the fire. The northeastern part of the town is now under control, but fire is still razing the southwestern parts of town.
A buffer barricade has been set up to prevent the blaze from spreading, but reports say that difficult access for the fire engines through narrow streets has hampered efforts.
There have been no reports of injury or deaths as yet. The cause of the fire is now under investigation.
As of 11.30am, the fire has been brought under control, according to People's Daily. However there is still danger of flare-ups.
Firefighters from Lijiang and Dali had arrived during the night to support the battle against the blaze.
They had their work cut out not only because the wooden structures in the town were extremely flammable, but also because water had frozen in the pipes due to the cold, hindering rescue.
