By Hu Yinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-02-02 07:42

People across the country may not hear as many loud bangs during this holiday season after all.

Setting off firecrackers has always been a most cherished tradition of the Lunar New Year. In ancient times, their booming sounds were believed to have the power to scare away the Nian, a demon whose name shares the Chinese character for "year".

Lighting firecrackers has now become a festive pastime, symbolizing the passing of the old year while celebrating the new one.

But things are destined to change this year because of the continued rain and snowstorms, which have paralyzed traffic to and from Liuyang, China's largest area for firecracker production, as well as most other cities in central Hunan province.

"The snow has affected the level of cracker production here, where firecrackers are still mostly handmade," Wan Zhiyu, chief of Hunan Administration of Work Safety's fireworks division, said on Friday. "Production has halted in some areas... It's been too cold for the workers, who can't keep themselves warm with fire."

Few orders from other provinces have been made, and "most of those that are produced remain piled up in warehouses in Liuyang, since transportation is at a standstill and we can't manage to send them to Changsha, the provincial capital," he said.

The local work safety watchdog has banned firecrackers and similar flammable and explosive substances from roads where services have returned to normal, he added.

Wan expects the weather and traffic conditions to improve after Monday. But by then, Spring Festival will be only three days away.

(China Daily 02/02/2008 page3)