Shoppers select fireworks in a Beijing store on Wednesday, February 7, 2007. Fireworks have hit the shelves of over 2,000 designated stores in the city, ahead of celebrations for Chinese New Year.   Feb.8 - Fireworks went on sale in over 2,000 stores in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of the Chinese New Year celebrations which explode into life on February 17.

 

More than 510,000 boxes of firecrackers worth 114 million yuan (US$14.7 million) are expected to be sold in 2,153 designated stores.

 

This is the second year since Beijing lifted a 12-year ban on fireworks, which are traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits trying to enter the new year. The Beijing authorities banned firecrackers in 1993 due to safety and environmental concerns, but lifted the ban in 2005 after authorities said the industry had been cleaned up its act.

 

The new regulations allow Beijing residents inside the fifth ring road to let off fireworks all day on February 17 and 18 - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - and from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. everyday from February 19 to March 4.

 

As fireworks makers and vendors prepare for fiery trade, city authorities are still concerned about the threat from illegal fireworks.

 

"Inferior fireworks are still rampant, posing a great threat to citizens' safety," said Li Wei, head of the city's fireworks management office.

 

"The key solution to the problem is to allow legal products to fill the market as soon as possible. That is why we are allowing sales to begin three days earlier this year than in 2006," he said.

 

The city has contained the presence of inferior firecrackers by setting up checkpoints on the main roads to the capital, he said.

 

Vendors wishing to sell firecrackers in the capital must pass a test to obtain safety qualification certificates from the Beijing Municipal Administration of Work Safety.

 

People over the age of 60 will not be allowed to sell firecrackers in Beijing, according to a notice issued last December by a local safety watchdog. It is the first time Beijing has set an age limit for sellers.