Police confiscated videotape of the entire show that was recorded by four CCTV cameras at the site.

The burned tower and a CCTV office building next door are among a group of signature buildings erected in Beijing in recent years as part of a modernization effort. Designed by famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, they cost about 5 billion yuan to build.

The tower housed studios, a 1,500-seat theater and an unoccupied luxury hotel. Hotel operator Mandarin Oriental said it had planned to open this year.

Witnesses said sparks from fireworks might have landed on building materials piled inside upper floors with unfinished, open windows. Luo said the fireworks were launched with steel pipes using electronic controls.

While the fire raged, booms from fireworks lit by citizens nearby echoed through the commercial-residential neighborhood.

Chinese citizens are allowed to set off fireworks in the streets during the New Year period. Beijing lifted restrictions on fireworks in 2005.

Within an hour of the fire’s start at about 8:30pm, a dozen firefighting trucks were on the scene. Eventually, 54 trucks responded. Black smoke engulfed the building and shrouded the commercial-residential district on the city’s east side, prompting an evacuation of 600 nearby apartment residents.

Firefighters who arrived early lacked high-pressure pumps needed to reach upper floors, forcing them to watch helplessly as flames leapt from windows overhead.

Luo said fire extinguishers had yet to be fully installed in the 159-meter building, adding that his department’s firefighting equipment only reaches heights of 98 meters. As a result, nearly six hours passed before the flames died out.

The tower’s basic structure was completed in 2006 with hundreds of studios, a theater, conference center, exhibit center, computer rooms and hotel. Part of the building was used during the Beijing Olympics.