Beijing Times, March 2, 2010

Today's Beijing Times presents an unusual view of the iconic CCTV building. Rimmed in cracked glass and smoke-stained beams, the new headquarters was photographed from inside the neighboring TVCC building, which caught fire on February 9, 2009 due to an illegal fireworks display conducted by the television station.

This and other photos of fire damage are part of a feature story in this week's Caijing magazine. The Beijing Times offers a taste:

Standing on the 30th story platform, you can hear the sound of fire-damaged metal structural parts clanging against each other. The metal framework atop the platform is distorted and collapsed in many places. Walking down the smoke-stained stairwell, this reporter reached the 29th and 28th stories, both equipment floors not seriously damaged by the fire. The restaurant-in-the-air on the 27th story was severely damaged in the fire, which baked the outer glass walls on the east, west, and south as it raged, and incinerated all of the interior decoration. With the ceiling fixtures torched, ductwork is exposed and burnt electrical wires hang from the ceiling. All around are load-bearing walls and support columns marked "remove" (拆). There are no traces of the fire in the kitchen in the middle of the floor or in the storage room; kitchen equipment is in excellent condition.

Hotel rooms occupy the 5th to 26th stories. This reporter discovered that most of the rooms on the north face escaped the blaze and are largely completed. Rooms on the other faces have suffered varying degrees of fire damage. Many of the rooms on the 9th and 10th stories have been completely destroyed.

There is little obvious evidence of the fire on the first through fourth stories.

Along the narrow corridors in the multi-use basement, there is no sign of the fire, and the parking garage is in excellent condition.

Here's one image of a support reading 拆柱 ("remove column"). For more images, see the Beijing Times article, its repost on Sina, or pick up a copy of Caijing magazine.

The column on the right is marked for removal