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Opinion | China’s Lunar New Year fireworks: even a beloved tradition can’t ignore public safety
- The debate over the ban on setting off fireworks and firecrackers to celebrate the new year arises anew every time the festival comes around
- A balance should be struck, and local governments have the leeway to set regulations appropriate to the situation
When I was in kindergarten, there was no holiday I looked forward to more than the Lunar New Year. And, out of all the traditions, lighting fireworks was my favourite.
What a sight that was! At least a dozen different types of fireworks set the night sky ablaze. One bloomed in four different colours, another spelled out “happy new year”, and my favourite one, shaped like a small plane, flew off tree branches and followed people around.
The entire neighbourhood would get together for this one night of fun, turning it into a large social gathering. At midnight, before we went to bed, we would hang a string of firecrackers outside our window and set it off to crackle loudly for at least five minutes, the last ritual to get rid of the bad luck in the past year.
As I got older, I began to see the other side of this tradition. I realised how difficult it was to clean the layers of debris the next day – the city cleaners would still be sweeping the streets a week into the new year; how the pollutants lingered in the air, smelling of sulphur; how annoying it was to be woken up at midnight, and sometimes again at 3am or 4am, by the sudden sound of firecrackers.
The ban tightened and relaxed over the years. As of today, most cities restrict fireworks to certain areas, usually far away from the city centre. For example, this new year, Beijing has banned all fireworks within the fifth ring road.
