China in a haze a day after fire breaks out near CCTV

February 9, 2009 @ 11:12 pm

china-in-a-haze-after-fire
Photo: Reuters Pictures

This is what China looks like today after a sudden blaze engulfed portions of a hotel near the CCTV tower in Beijing.

It hasn’t yet been ruled out, but some believe the fire may have started from fireworks used near the site during the final day of Chinese New Year celebrations.

Video of the fire near CCTV in Beijing, China

February 9, 2009 @ 2:45 pm

Arch Daily has posted first-person video of the fire that has engulfed Beijing’s Television Cultural Centre (TVCC), the building adjacent to the headquarters of China Central Television (CCTV), a building designed by Rem Koolhaas of The Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

There are many incorrect reports that the CCTV building is on fire. It is not, although it is in danger of being so because of its proximity to TVCC, which in fact, is on fire.

The TVCC building was supposed to open in mid-May, but current reports indicate that the building is now more or less unusable.

UPDATE: For those that can understand Chinese, here’s a news report with better video (courtesy of ChinaSMACK).

CCTV cameras on New York City MTA busses

October 12, 2008 @ 2:52 pm

I was riding the Q46 bus in Queens the other day and on the ceiling of the bus were CCTV cameras! And not just one, but at least 5 that I could see! Up until that point, I had never seen a CCTV camera on any MTA city bus, and I don’t normally ride the bus, so I’m not sure if this is a new thing or not. But having a single city bus with at least 5 CCTV cameras looking at you really can make you paranoid.

I took the photo above of three CCTV cameras towards the front of the bus, and if I remember correctly, there was one above me and another towards the back.