'Hometown of fireworks' lights up the sky(2)

Historical ties

The Hunan cities of Liuyang and Liling, and the counties of Shangli and Wanzai in neighboring Jiangxi province, are China's four major fireworks-producing areas.

Ties between Liuyang and fireworks date to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when Li Tian, a Liuyang native, is believed to have filled sections of bamboo with black powder, inventing the world's first firecrackers to drive away evil spirits.

Liuyang is the world's largest production hub for firecrackers and fireworks. Its domestic sales of fireworks account for 50 percent of the national total, and its export value for fireworks comprises 60 percent of this total.

Fireworks from the city light up birthdays, weddings and independence day celebrations in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Data from the Liuyang Firecrackers and Fireworks Industry Development Center show the 50 fireworks shows held in the city last year attracted more than 3.8 million visitors, including over 10,000 from other countries and regions.

The center, a government institution that oversees the city's firecrackers and fireworks industry, said the shows last year generated tourism revenue of more than 11 billion yuan.

In Liuyang, 431 enterprises are involved with manufacturing fireworks and firecrackers, 658 with related operational, wholesale and storage businesses, and more than 400 enterprises package these devices.

The city's pillar industry provides jobs for more than 300,000 people and generates almost 1 billion yuan in annual tax revenue, the center said.

Last year, the total output value of fireworks and firecrackers in Liuyang reached 50.89 billion yuan, a rise of nearly 69 percent from a year earlier, it added.

Government efforts to curb pollution have led to bans on fireworks in many cities nationwide. However, late last year, the National People's Congress Standing Committee's Legal Affairs Commission ruled that it is illegal for local governments to enact complete bans on selling and setting off fireworks.

On Jan 9, the authorities in Changsha said they would allow the public to set off fireworks for more than 10 days during Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.

Ten days later, the authorities in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, said fireworks could be set off by people for eight days during the two festivals.

In Dayao township, Liuyang, which produces 70 percent of the raw materials used to make fireworks in China, an international trading center houses more than 400 fireworks stores.

Gu Jun, president of Liuyang Junzi Fireworks Trade Co, which is located at the center, said he welcomes the regulation on fireworks being loosened.