On the night of May 2nd, a fierce fire broke out in the Da Li Tang Auditorium at the Minguo Campus of Henan University, with the roof of the auditorium collapsing by the morning of the 3rd. This auditorium, with a history of 90 years, was once designated as a national key cultural relic protection unit.
Videos circulating online on the 3rd showed flames engulfing the entire auditorium, burning intensely. The building appeared to be surrounded by construction safety nets.
In the early hours of the 3rd, the Kaifeng Fire Department in Henan received reports of a fire on the roof of a building at Henan University’s Minguo Campus at 11:22 pm on the 2nd.
Henan University reported on the 3rd that at around 11:20 pm on the 2nd, the Da Li Tang Auditorium at the Minguo Campus, which was undergoing renovations, was found to be on fire.
An employee at Henan University disclosed to “Peak News” that the auditorium had been under construction for nearly four months, and the cause of the fire may be related to construction workers taking breaks inside the auditorium. The exact reason is still unclear.
“The auditorium should have had smoke detection facilities, but they were not installed during the renovations,” the employee said. “The fire likely started around ten o’clock last night, and the fire trucks arrived around eleven o’clock.”
Another report from “Peak News” stated that around 7:30 am on the 3rd, the Da Li Tang Auditorium at the Minguo Campus of Henan University had suffered a fire, resulting in the roof collapsing significantly and the burnt building appearing charred.
Since the official cause of the fire has not been released, netizens have been speculating in their comments.
“Just smoking and carelessly throwing away the cigarette, or maybe an electrical fault, either way, the construction team can’t escape responsibility.” “There’s no need to ask, the usual practice in universities is wherever maintenance work is needed, cigarette butts are everywhere. Our school put up bed rails during winter break, and when I visited the dorms, there were cigarette butts everywhere.” “It’s probably due to construction site issues. For example, working with electricity on-site, construction workers smoking, these kinds of problems.”
Henan University expressed deep apologies to all sectors of society and pledged to make every effort to minimize the losses.
People left comments like: “This is the soul of Henan University, not destroyed in war but…” “It’s not just a building; it’s the root of Henan University students.” “Burnt down, all in flames.” “Some things cannot be resolved with just an apology!” “With it burning to this extent, how can we reduce the losses?” “If the current university leadership cannot protect historical relics, should they burn down old buildings to build new ones?” “Let the school leaders fund the repairs themselves, as a way to make up for their mistakes. Don’t use public funds for bids and profit from the restoration.”
The full name of the auditorium is “Da Li Tang Auditorium of Henan University, Former Site of Henan Study Abroad School in Europe and America.” It is an important modern historical site and architecture. The construction of the auditorium cost 210,000 ocean dollars and took three years (1931 to 1934) to complete, covering an area of 3,932 square meters with a total building area of 4,687 square meters. It was designated as the sixth batch of national key cultural relic protection units in 2006.