ID required to buy fireworks in Beijing

Beijing: Buyers must use their ID cards to buy fireworks in Beijing during the upcoming Spring Festival, a city official said recently, which is the latest measure to control fireworks after placing bans on the explosive materials in special regions across the city.

Beijing Emergency Management Bureau official Tang Mingming said that the city will cut down firework retail outlets from around 80 to 30, with no outlets within the fifth Ring Road, and sales will only take place from Jan 30 to Feb 9.

Each outlet will be equipped with special devices to identify buyers with their ID cards, and if safety problems occur, the buyers will be punished, Tang said, according to a report on the newspaper Beijing Youth Daily.

Beijing has already banned fireworks within the fifth Ring Road in recent years, and some districts also banned fireworks in certain regions.

Tang said the Tongzhou district, Beijing’s sub-centre, will totally ban fireworks this year. Many Chinese cities have also banned fireworks during the Spring Festival, taking into consideration the potential for air pollution and serious injuries.

Beijing’s neighbouring city Tianjin has banned fireworks entirely during the upcoming festival.

Last week, Xiongan New Area’s Rongcheng county in Hebei province issued a total ban on fireworks during the upcoming Spring Festival as well.