Ancient town catches fire in China's Shangri-la

KUNMING - An ancient town in Shangri-la, a resort county in Southwest China's Yunnan province, caught fire early Saturday, local authorities said.

The fire broke out at 1:27 am at the Dukezong Ancient Town, where most house are made of wood, adding difficulties to the fire fighting, said a local government spokesman.

More than 1,000 people were battling the fire. However, it was still spreading at 8 am, said the spokesman.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

File photo of Dukezong Ancient Town on July, 31, 2009. [Photo/icpress.cn]