Xinjiang Cinema Fire, 18 February 1977 — Incident Report
Incident Report · Fire & Crowd Crush

Xinjiang Cinema Fire18 February 1977

A source-led incident page on the 61st Regiment Farm auditorium fire in Xinjiang, China. The event is widely reported as causing 694 fatalities, including 597 children, with several key details still unverified or conflicting.

Date18 Feb 1977
LocationHuocheng County
Fatalities694 reported
Injuries161 reported
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Incident Overview

What is reported to have happened

Date: 18 February 1977.

Location: 61st Regiment Farm auditorium / 六十一团场礼堂, Alimali / Huocheng County, Xinjiang, China. Exact street address not verified.

Incident name: China, Xinjiang, cinema fire / Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm Fire / 伊犁农垦局六十一团场礼堂火灾.

Short Summary

Film screening, fire and restricted exit

During a Lunar New Year film screening, sources report that the event was moved indoors because of extreme cold.

A child’s firecracker reportedly ignited stored mourning wreaths for Mao Zedong. The fire spread rapidly and a crush formed at a restricted exit.

Source caution The incident is mostly documented through later reports and retrospective sources. Several important details remain unverified.

Reported Impact

Headline figures repeated across sources

0
Reported fatalities
0
Reported child fatalities
0
Reported injured or disabled
1.6m
Reported exit width

Chronology

Reported sequence

Lunar New Year screening
The audience gathered for a film screening during the Lunar New Year period.
Moved indoors due to cold
Sources report the event was moved into the auditorium because of extreme cold conditions.
Firecracker ignition
A child’s firecracker reportedly ignited stored mourning wreaths for Mao Zedong at the rear of the auditorium.
Rapid fire spread and crush
The fire spread rapidly. Retrospective accounts describe blocked or restricted escape routes, narrowed windows, and crowd pressure at a limited exit.

Operational Details

Key factors raised by the sources

🔥
Combustible storage
Stored mourning wreaths are repeatedly cited as the material first ignited.
🚪
Restricted escape
Detailed retrospectives refer to blocked doors, narrowed windows and a restricted exit route.
👥
Crowd crush
The incident is described as both a fire and crowd crush, with pressure forming at the exit.
📄
Retrospective record
Much of the detail comes from later Chinese retrospective sources rather than opened primary official files.
⚠️ Verification point No primary official investigation report or court record was verified in the incident document.

Disputed Details

Where sources do not fully agree

The incident document identifies three key areas where reports conflict or remain partly unresolved.

Disputed Detail
Time of fire outbreak

The exact incident time is not verified.

Source 1

Working With Crowds summarises the archived 1995 article as stating about 23:15.

Source 2

The 2009 Chinese retrospective states “22时15分左右” in the detailed narrative and “22时许” in the page heading section.

Exact official incident time not verified.

Disputed Detail
Auditorium construction year

Sources give different construction years for the auditorium.

Source 1

The Read01 repost of the 1995 article says the auditorium was built in 1964.

Source 2

The 2009 retrospective says it was built in 1966.

No primary construction record verified.

Disputed Detail
Injury split

The total injury figure is supported, but the split by severity is not verified.

Source 1

Multiple detailed sources state 161 injured or disabled.

Source 2

A later 2025 Sohu article in search results reports 111 burn-disabled and 50 lightly injured, but it was not relied upon.

Total 161 is supported; the split is not verified.

Not Verified

Details that remain open

The following points should not be treated as confirmed from the available source pack.

Starting source
Starting source URL was not provided in the user message.
Street address
Exact street address of the auditorium.
Venue name
Exact official English name of the venue.
Incident time
Exact official incident time to the minute.
Official records
Primary official Chinese investigation report or court record.
Injury split
Split between serious burn/disability and lighter injuries.
Formal name
Whether “cinema fire” is the best formal incident name.

Source Material

References

The following references are taken from the incident document. Weak open-source pointers are included but clearly labelled.

01
Reuters · News article
China 1994 fire killed 288 pupils as officials fled-expose
9 August 2007; article text says Beijing, May 8
Background report on the 1994 Karamay fire. It states that a 1977 Xinjiang fire killed 694 people, including 597 children.
Visit Source →
02
ABC News · News article
Christmas Day Fire in China Kills 309
25 December 2000
Background context on Chinese fires. It states that China’s worst such fire was in Xinjiang in 1977, killing 694 people, 597 of them children.
Visit Source →
03
IOL / Reuters · News article
74 die in Chinese cinema blaze
30 March 2000 / displayed as “Published 26 years ago”
Reuters report on the Jiaozuo cinema fire. It repeats the Xinjiang 1977 figure of 694 deaths, including 597 children.
Visit Source →
04
Deseret News / Reuters · News article
Fire kills at least 74 at a cinema in China
30 March 2000
Reuters News Service report giving the same background figure: 694 killed in Xinjiang in 1977, including 597 children.
Visit Source →
05
Read01 / 天天头条 · Magazine repost
694条生命化为灰烬——一场没有公开报道的特大火灾
Original article reported as 1995, issue 4; web repost 13 May 2016
Long-form retrospective. It says stored Mao mourning wreaths caught fire in the 61st Regiment auditorium and reports 694 deaths, 161 injured or disabled, and 597 victims under age 16.
Retrospective repost; not a primary official record.
Visit Source →
06
Web Archive / WeChat repost · Magazine repost
694条生命化为灰烬——一场没有公开报道的特大火灾
Original article reported as 1995; archived capture 4 January 2023
Archived repost of the same long-form article. It says the wreaths were stored in the rear of the auditorium, covered about 120 square metres, and were over 2 metres high.
Archived repost; useful backup source.
Visit Source →
07
Working With Crowds · Case study
Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm Fire
Page active in 2026; no separate publication date verified
Case-study page identifying the incident as a fire and crush at the 61st Regiment Farm auditorium on 18 February 1977. It reports 694 fatalities and 161 injuries.
Visit Source →
08
佛教导航 · Chinese retrospective repost
一九七七年，六十一团那场大火
10 June 2009; source line credits 雪落天山静无声, 31 May 2009
Chinese retrospective reporting 694 deaths and 161 injured or disabled. It describes the screening, the cold-weather move indoors, ignition by firecracker, narrowed windows, blocked doors, and a 1.6-metre exit.
Visit Source →
09
China Daily Xinjiang Channel · Location context
新疆兵团四师六十一团以招商引资推进农业产业化
19 June 2017
Used only for present-day location context. It supports the association of the 61st Regiment area with Alimali / 阿力玛里 and does not document the 1977 fire itself.
Location background only.
Visit Source →
10
X / H54355Know · Open-source pointer
What happened on February 18! In 1977, the Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire…
2025 based on visible search metadata; exact date not independently verified
Search result text refers to the firecracker and Mao memorial wreath account. The page returned no readable lines, so it is treated as a weak open-source pointer only.
Weak source; no incident facts relied upon.
Visit Source →
11
YouTube / Qrio · Open-source pointer
The Deadly Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm Fire
Not verified
Search result identifies a video about the incident. The page could not be fetched, so no incident facts are taken from it.
Weak source; page not fetched.
Visit Source →

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