For more than a millennium, Chinese people have celebrated Spring Festival with fireworks from Liuyang, Hunan province
On the Chinese New Year's Eve, strolling through the streets of Dali ancient town in Yunnan province, 40-year-old YouTuber Jasminia Gough from Australia found herself amid a blaze of light and sound. The streets suddenly came alive, with firecrackers echoing off the buildings and fireworks lighting up the faces of families gathered together to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
At the stroke of midnight, with a series of thunderous booms, "fireworks filled the sky, the streets became chaos, the noise was deafening, and the entire town came alive in a way I have never experienced before", Gough said in the introduction of a seven-minute video she posted about the special night. The YouTuber can be seen in the video bursting into laughter and setting off a few fireworks herself.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to be welcomed here … and to experience Chinese New Year. It is like nothing else in the world, and I will not forget tonight," she said.
That same night, in many parts of the country, people were setting off fireworks and firecrackers to drive away misfortune and express wishes for a healthy, wealthy and happy new year, as they have for the past 1,400 years — since Li Tian, a young man from today's Liuyang, Hunan province, invented them to ward off evil in 621.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), firecracker production in Hunan prospered, and during dynasties that followed, Liuyang fireworks and firecrackers were often designated as tribute items by the imperial court.
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By 1875, Liuyang's fireworks were being exported to Europe and North America in large quantities.
The millennium-old manufacturing technique of Liuyang fireworks and firecrackers, which traditionally has 72 procedures, was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
The city itself has also developed a reputation for amazing displays that not only feature traditional elements, but also high-tech aspects as well.
In October, Elon Musk shared on X a video of Tree of Life, a show presented during the 17th Liuyang Fireworks Cultural Festival. In the video, 7,496 fireworks joined by 15,947 drones created a spectacular display that broke two Guinness World Records — the drone formation flight carrying the largest number of fireworks, and the most drones simultaneously controlled by a single computer.
On Saturday, around 8 pm, a giant winged horse formed by 2,000 drones appeared over Liuyang. The colorful horse reared up, its forelegs slowly extending forward as the two wings on its back gently flapped. Suddenly, beneath it, countless points of light burst forth in a spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, as brilliant paint splashed across a dark canvas, forming a vast expanse of iridescent cloud.
The jaw-dropping display, watched by some 200,000 people at the city's Sky Theater, marked the fifth day of the first lunar month, a key point during Spring Festival when Chinese families sweep away poverty and misfortune while setting off firecrackers to welcome the God of Wealth.
According to the Liuyang Fireworks Industry Development Center, since July 2023, the city has hosted 145 firework shows, attracting 8 million visitors who have contributed over 20 billion yuan ($2.89 billion) to the local economy.
During this Spring Festival holiday alone, Liuyang's 68 leading pyrotechnics companies staged more than 500 firework shows across the country, setting records in both the number of shows and revenue generated, according to the center.
However, as urban populations have swelled and residential areas have become denser, the risks associated with traditional fireworks displays have intensified.
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"The fireworks we set off are manufactured in full compliance with national standards. We are also currently researching and testing various new materials to minimize smoke, odor and particulate matter," said Zhong Liang, deputy general manager of Dancing Fireworks, the organizer of the show at Sky Theater.
Safety, environmentally friendly materials and their creative design have made Liuyang fireworks popular in overseas markets. In the United States, for example, Liuyang Runting Fireworks Group's development of a material that eliminates sulfur dioxide emissions has boosted the appeal of its products.
Meanwhile, on Feb 6 and 8, Liuyang Jiteng Fireworks lit up the skies in the United Arab Emirates with a display featuring double-layer colored clouds and high-altitude waterfall fireworks. This immersive show brought the romance of the Chinese New Year to overseas audiences.
In 2025, Liuyang accounted for 70 percent of China's total firecrackers and fireworks exports, shipping to more than 100 countries and regions around the world, Hunan Daily reported.
