No casualties were reported in the fire, which broke out in the morning at the three-building Dynasty Wanxin complex in the city of Shenyang. The flames erupted in the building's Tower B, an apartment building, and quickly spread to the adjacent Tower A, which is largely taken up by a five-star hotel, Xinhua news agency reported.
All the 50 people in the hotel were evacuated and the fire was effectively controlled, Shenyang Municipal Public Security Bureau officials told Xinhua. The third tower in the complex was not affected by the fire.
Police said the fire was apparently triggered by fireworks, which accidentally sparked off the external wall of the buildings. Further investigation into the cause and losses of the fire is still underway.
Fire engines, whose water guns could jet water only 50 meters high, were helpless at the fire which flamed on the top of Tower A, 219 meters high. Power supply in the hotel was not cut off, which was said to keep the automatic spray facilities in operation in the building.
Personnel from adjacent five-star Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel were evacuated, and residents around the Dynasty Wanxin building mainly stayed at home. Letting off fireworks on Lunar New Year's Eve and throughout the festive period is a long-held Chinese tradition based on the belief that the noise will ward off evil spirits and ghosts.
But it is also a dangerous practice, and each year hundreds are reported hurt or killed in China in fire incidents.