BEIJING: China may have invented fireworks but Beijing banned them from the capital Friday ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations, as authorities clamp down on potentially dangerous activities.
The new regulation was passed by the local government and comes amid a city-wide campaign that drove an estimated tens of thousands of migrants from homes that authorities deemed unsafe following a deadly fire.
In a country where fireworks are popular and supposedly originated a thousand years ago during the Tang Dynasty, the ban is not likely to be popular.
During the 15-day Lunar New Year period, the bangs, pops and flickers of fireworks are constant and are thought to drive away evil spirits.
It is unclear if Beijing authorities will enforce the ban during the boisterous national holidays as well.
Firework sellers are worried though.
“No more firework stalls will be allowed within the fifth ring road,” said Tao Liang, marketing manager of Panda Fireworks, referring to the road that encircles the heart of the city.
“It’s clear that sales will fall a lot.”
The ban adds Beijing to a long list of Chinese cities that have restricted firework use in recent years amid safety and pollution concerns.
Those restrictions have sent Panda Fireworks, one of China’s largest firework makers, searching for new business.
“Our company has been thinking about the transformation for a long time,” said Tao.
“We established Panda International Information Technology Company in 2014, which is doing pretty good.”