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The phrase “Chinese fire drill” may come as a joke to Westerners， but in China， where towns and relics thousands or hundreds of years old stand at risk of being lost to devastating fires， it is no laughing matter.
In April， Lijiang in south China’s yunnan Province， a popular tourist destination for its unique ethnic flavor， witnessed three fire mishaps on the 6， 10， and 14， respectively. The frequency of incidents shocked the nation and aroused anxiety over the protection of the ancient town.
Prior to the recent string of incidents， in the years from 2009 to 2013， the Old Town of Lijiang was hit by one fire per year on average. In fact， it is not the only well-known site that has erupted in flames. Earlier this year， fires broke out in two other ancient building groups—Baojing Dong village in Guizhou Province and Dukezong Ancient Town at Shangrila County of yunnan Province.
Fires have become the greatest threat for these cultural relics. Discussions on how to take better measures to protect them from such disasters are in full swing across China.
The Old Town of Lijiang was included in the World Heritage List in December 1997. Located in Lijiang City， most of the old town’s buildings are made of wood.
The town， where the Nakhi people reside， has a history of more than 800 years. In ancient times， the town used to be the most important place on the Ancient Southern Silk Road， also called the Ancient Tea and Horse Road. It is famous for its winding cobblestone streets and orderly system of waterways and bridges.
difficult containment
Xia Wei arrived in the Old Town of Lijiang to open a bar and restaurant in 2010. The fire on April 6 broke out only 200 meters away from his business.
When fire started at four o’clock that morning， Xia immediately grabbed an extinguisher and rushed to the site. But the fire was too big to be easily contained. He recalled that his friend’s hotel was burned to the ground.
Like most business owners， Xia loved the town and enjoyed his life there. He， too， was anxious about fire hazards in the area.
As far as Xia saw it， the fires were not just coincidental. “Every building is packed close to its neighbors， and all of them are made of wood. It is dry and windy here， because Lijiang is located on a high plateau. These buildings are vulnerable to fires，” he said.
Excessive commercialization served as another reason for the big loss in the fires. The stores were erected one after another， attracting large crowds. This crowdedness made it difficult for fire engines to make their ways through the narrow roads to the fire site. The frequent fires alarmed businesspeople such as Xia. After the incident last March， he bought fire insurance for his two stores and equipped them with more fire extinguishers.
His concerns over the inefficiency of firefighting were shared by Mao Bo， Fire Chief of Gucheng District， Lijiang. Mao is in charge of fire service in Lijiang.
“The infrastructure is very weak，” said Mao.“For example， the water used for firefighting and the water used for daily life share the same pipe， the diameter of which is very small.”
Based on the current fire control rules， some buildings in the ancient town shouldn’t have been used as places for entertainment. However， many turned a deaf ear to the warnings， said Mao.
According to the Lijiang Municipal Tourism Bureau， the city received more than 20 million tourists in 2013， up 30 percent from the previous year. Tourism brought an income of about 28 billion yuan （$4.47 billion）， up by 32 percent. Along with this was the rapid increase in the number of property owners， which now totals around 100，000.
Poor management
The management within the Old Town of Lijiang is in urgent need for improvement. For instance， many hotels didn’t install fire prevention boards or daub fire retardant coating as required by regulations.
As for this， Mao said the standards on fire management for the old buildings was not clear. Based on the existing laws and regulations， many of these old buildings shouldn’t be used for commercial purposes at all.
Mao’s comment was echoed by his coworker yang Chunyong， who published a story on fire management in the town in September， 2011， which attracted a flood of attention.
“There are no standards to follow in terms of fire safety in the area. We can only handle it on a case-by-case basis， making our work very difficult，” he wrote in the article.
Indeed， in the Regulations on the Protection of the Old Town of Lijiang， which had been implemented between 2006 and 2013， there was only one article regarding fire prevention.
The article reads， “All entities， residents and commercial stores should do the fire control work， and be equipped with relevant facilities. Make timely rectifications if any problem is found. The sales and use of fireworks are strictly forbidden.”
This sparse regulation is clearly hard to follow. After a fire in March 2013， the local Lijiang Government has made efforts to strengthen fire management. In April 2013， regulations on the fire control of the Old Town of Lijiang were issued， marking the city’s first regulations focused on protecting the old buildings.
According to the regulations， hotels and restaurants with more than 20 rooms should install an automatic fire-extinguishing sprinkler system and an automatic fire alarm system. However， the odds of implementation are not high.
The city has not calculated how many hotels and restaurants have completed the installation， but the number is unlikely to be great， Mao estimated.
“The installation is done on a voluntary basis now. Who would spend that amount of money if it is not mandatory？” he said.
Mao added that he had already submitted detailed reports to the local government， suggesting under what circumstances the alarm system and fire control facilities should be installed.
“With specific standards， we can properly implement the regulations in the future，” he said.
The debate over fire safety has extended from ancient buildings and regulators to cultural relics protection experts and authorities. After all， these ancient towns are precious relics for the Chinese nation.
“These recent fires have already gotten attention from lawmakers， and this will soon be reflected on the revisions of the law on cultural relics protection，” said Liu yang， an expert on cultural relics protection laws. He has been calling for authorities to improve fire control laws and regulations as soon as possible and promote lawful fire management.
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protection of Cultural Relics， which has been implemented for more than 32 years， has been in the process of collecting public opinions now. As concerns over safety spread like the fires they are meant to combat， a revised draft is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
In April， Lijiang in south China’s yunnan Province， a popular tourist destination for its unique ethnic flavor， witnessed three fire mishaps on the 6， 10， and 14， respectively. The frequency of incidents shocked the nation and aroused anxiety over the protection of the ancient town.
Prior to the recent string of incidents， in the years from 2009 to 2013， the Old Town of Lijiang was hit by one fire per year on average. In fact， it is not the only well-known site that has erupted in flames. Earlier this year， fires broke out in two other ancient building groups—Baojing Dong village in Guizhou Province and Dukezong Ancient Town at Shangrila County of yunnan Province.
Fires have become the greatest threat for these cultural relics. Discussions on how to take better measures to protect them from such disasters are in full swing across China.
The Old Town of Lijiang was included in the World Heritage List in December 1997. Located in Lijiang City， most of the old town’s buildings are made of wood.
The town， where the Nakhi people reside， has a history of more than 800 years. In ancient times， the town used to be the most important place on the Ancient Southern Silk Road， also called the Ancient Tea and Horse Road. It is famous for its winding cobblestone streets and orderly system of waterways and bridges.
difficult containment
Xia Wei arrived in the Old Town of Lijiang to open a bar and restaurant in 2010. The fire on April 6 broke out only 200 meters away from his business.
When fire started at four o’clock that morning， Xia immediately grabbed an extinguisher and rushed to the site. But the fire was too big to be easily contained. He recalled that his friend’s hotel was burned to the ground.
Like most business owners， Xia loved the town and enjoyed his life there. He， too， was anxious about fire hazards in the area.
As far as Xia saw it， the fires were not just coincidental. “Every building is packed close to its neighbors， and all of them are made of wood. It is dry and windy here， because Lijiang is located on a high plateau. These buildings are vulnerable to fires，” he said.
Excessive commercialization served as another reason for the big loss in the fires. The stores were erected one after another， attracting large crowds. This crowdedness made it difficult for fire engines to make their ways through the narrow roads to the fire site. The frequent fires alarmed businesspeople such as Xia. After the incident last March， he bought fire insurance for his two stores and equipped them with more fire extinguishers.
His concerns over the inefficiency of firefighting were shared by Mao Bo， Fire Chief of Gucheng District， Lijiang. Mao is in charge of fire service in Lijiang.
“The infrastructure is very weak，” said Mao.“For example， the water used for firefighting and the water used for daily life share the same pipe， the diameter of which is very small.”
Based on the current fire control rules， some buildings in the ancient town shouldn’t have been used as places for entertainment. However， many turned a deaf ear to the warnings， said Mao.
According to the Lijiang Municipal Tourism Bureau， the city received more than 20 million tourists in 2013， up 30 percent from the previous year. Tourism brought an income of about 28 billion yuan （$4.47 billion）， up by 32 percent. Along with this was the rapid increase in the number of property owners， which now totals around 100，000.
Poor management
The management within the Old Town of Lijiang is in urgent need for improvement. For instance， many hotels didn’t install fire prevention boards or daub fire retardant coating as required by regulations.
As for this， Mao said the standards on fire management for the old buildings was not clear. Based on the existing laws and regulations， many of these old buildings shouldn’t be used for commercial purposes at all.
Mao’s comment was echoed by his coworker yang Chunyong， who published a story on fire management in the town in September， 2011， which attracted a flood of attention.
“There are no standards to follow in terms of fire safety in the area. We can only handle it on a case-by-case basis， making our work very difficult，” he wrote in the article.
Indeed， in the Regulations on the Protection of the Old Town of Lijiang， which had been implemented between 2006 and 2013， there was only one article regarding fire prevention.
The article reads， “All entities， residents and commercial stores should do the fire control work， and be equipped with relevant facilities. Make timely rectifications if any problem is found. The sales and use of fireworks are strictly forbidden.”
This sparse regulation is clearly hard to follow. After a fire in March 2013， the local Lijiang Government has made efforts to strengthen fire management. In April 2013， regulations on the fire control of the Old Town of Lijiang were issued， marking the city’s first regulations focused on protecting the old buildings.
According to the regulations， hotels and restaurants with more than 20 rooms should install an automatic fire-extinguishing sprinkler system and an automatic fire alarm system. However， the odds of implementation are not high.
The city has not calculated how many hotels and restaurants have completed the installation， but the number is unlikely to be great， Mao estimated.
“The installation is done on a voluntary basis now. Who would spend that amount of money if it is not mandatory？” he said.
Mao added that he had already submitted detailed reports to the local government， suggesting under what circumstances the alarm system and fire control facilities should be installed.
“With specific standards， we can properly implement the regulations in the future，” he said.
The debate over fire safety has extended from ancient buildings and regulators to cultural relics protection experts and authorities. After all， these ancient towns are precious relics for the Chinese nation.
“These recent fires have already gotten attention from lawmakers， and this will soon be reflected on the revisions of the law on cultural relics protection，” said Liu yang， an expert on cultural relics protection laws. He has been calling for authorities to improve fire control laws and regulations as soon as possible and promote lawful fire management.
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protection of Cultural Relics， which has been implemented for more than 32 years， has been in the process of collecting public opinions now. As concerns over safety spread like the fires they are meant to combat， a revised draft is expected to be completed by the end of this year.