Bright flashes and loud booms have rocked urban Beijing during
this year's
Spring Festival though posters reading "firecrackers forbidden"
are seen in major streets and small lanes reminding the residents
of the city's 11-year-old ban on the festive but often dangerous
explosives.
Beijing's eight urban districts and some suburban areas have
banned firecrackers since 1993, but most Beijingers are still
reluctant to farewell to what had been a traditional mark of joyous
occasions for generations of Chinese.
During a brief interview with Xinhua reporters Sunday, many
passersby admitted having lit firecrackers downtown on Wednesday,
the eve of the Chinese New Year, though they knew of the ban.
The main reason they gave was "it was not festive enough without
firecrackers."
"I know from childhood that the loud booms of firecrackers ward
off evil and bring in a new year," said Zhang Donghua, 46. "I
joined the crowds of merrymakers in the street when I found it
boring to switch the remote control from one channel to another,
only to find boring TV programs."
"The ban was applauded by many people when it began because less
injuries and fires were reported," said a citizen who requested
anonymity, "but as the years go by, people have started to wonder
why this special time of the year should be celebrated in
silence."
Xu Chunhua, 13, said his father had bought him enough
firecrackers to last for two weeks. "I wanted the loud booms to
take away all my bad luck over the past year," said Xu, "I don't
remember having lit a firecracker since I was seven or eight."
Feng Jicai, a renowned writer who upholds folk customs, said
firecrackers were not just a means of entertainment, but a carrier
of festivity as well. "The Chinese like to light firecrackers and
lanterns on New Year's eve, with the belief that the brightness
they bring scares away demons."
Feng said the centuries-old tradition was part of the Chinese
national identity and should not be banned altogether in modern
times.
"To avoid losing our own identity in a modern and globalized
society, we should think of better ways to sustain our culture
while minimizing its harms," he said.
Tianjin, a port city near Beijing, has exercised a more flexible
ban, allowing firecrackers to be lit in downtown areas on the eve
of the Chinese Lunar New Year and until 2:00 am on New Year's
Day.
Out of safety considerations, the city has outlawed lighting of
firecrackers close to railway stations, harbors, airport, schools,
hospitals, gas stations and some other public facilities.
Thursday morning saw dustmen cleaning 400 tons of burnt
firecrackers off Tianjin streets, and red-eyed Beijing policemen
going home after patrolling downtown streets all night.
Police sources say firecrackers caused 141 fires, killed two
people and injured 27 Wednesday night in Beijing's outskirts, where
the festive explosives are largely allowed.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2004)
