The burning of the Mandarin Oriental gives expats something to talk about

Some community events are planned, but many just happen. On the last day of Chinese New Year, the Mandarin Oriental hosted one of the latter. No event since the Olympics has so thoroughly brought together people living in Beijing. For the days that followed, news of the inferno dominated blogs, Twitter feeds and everyday conversation.

I was at the Bookworm when Paul Elden, trivia diva extraordinaire made the announcement, “Ladies and Gentleman, I would love for you all to stay and buy more drinks, but if you are interested, the CCTV complex is burning down.” The only discussion after that was on the best place to catch a cab.
In the time it took to reach Chaoyang Bei Lu, we had received more than 10 phone calls from people en route to the blaze. Within two blocks of the burning building, a notable increase in temperature came, not from the fire itself, but the presence of thousands of enthralled onlookers—all with cameras held aloft.

“Celebratory” would be an unfair description of the mood that night, but it was far from the solemnity that many subsequent reports recalled. “For me it was reminiscent of 9/11—the sight, the sadness, the awesomeness,” remarked American Nick Topjian. “Rarely do we see society thrown into disarray. When we do, it pauses our thoughts and broadens our perspective. While watching the fire from a hundred meters below, I was reminded of how feeble we are. Here we were, watching our own creation burn to the ground. And there was nothing we could do but take pictures and video for Youtube.”

The destruction was dreadful. In the space of an hour, the work of many years was undone, dozens were injured and one fireman was killed. Still, the excited throngs around the CCTV complex were testament to another truth; for better or worse, there is no more basic community activity than gathering around a roaring fire.

Jonathan Haagen