Do you remember these famous scenes? They are all located in Liuyang, a county town in Hunan, China.

In China, for every 10 fireworks lit, 7 come from Liuyang, which is the area with the highest concentration of fireworks industry.

Here, you don’t have to wait for the New Year’s Day, you can easily show off fireworks every week, and the flower trial sessions of companies are connected into a grand fireworks display.

There is such a set of data that China occupies 97.4% of the U.S. imported fireworks and firecrackers market. In 2022, the United States imported US$580.3 million of fireworks and firecrackers from China, and Liuyang County contributed 60% of the export volume.

Because Liuyang people often use mud produced in the local mountains to seal fireworks, the fireworks export is also jokingly called "yellow mud for dollars."

How to describe the status of Liuyang Fireworks in one sentence? The original headquarters of the International Fireworks Association, the Secretariat of the International Tobacco Standards Committee, and the National Fireworks and Firecrackers Standards Committee are all located in Liuyang.

Now, Liuyang’s fireworks are exported to more than 100 countries and regions, providing stable employment to more than 300,000 people.

Why is Liuyang awesome?

More than 1,300 years ago, the world's first firecracker was born in Liuyang.

The mountains here are rich in sulfur minerals, and important raw materials for making fire salt are readily available. The red soil that can be seen everywhere provides good natural conditions for high-quality fireworks raw materials.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci watched the fireworks display and wrote: "The Chinese people's technology in making fireworks is really excellent. There is almost nothing that cannot be skillfully imitated with fireworks... I estimate that the gunpowder they consumed is enough to maintain a considerable fireworks display." The war lasted for several years."

During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, Liuyang fireworks were exported to Southeast Asia. In modern times, Liuyang firecracker export advertisements read: This item will become popular all over the world one day.

But since then, Liuyang’s fireworks have become dusty, and with the spring breeze of reform and opening up, Liuyang people have regained their strength and begun industrial construction and innovation.

In 1984, at the World Fireworks Competition in Monaco, the fireworks factory representing China ranked last. The Ministry of Light Industry at that time gave Liuyang a task, requiring "to participate in the competition in 1986, get a good ranking, and win honor for the country."

The masters have been studying for two years and used 45 types of fireworks to show Chinese classical aesthetics to the world, defeating traditional strong teams such as Italy and winning the championship in one fell swoop.

In the same year, relying on fireworks, the main export product, Liuyang became the top foreign exchange earner among county-level units in Hunan Province.

Since 1998, with the promotion of the Liuyang government, traditional family workshops have been transformed into single-person, single-room assembly line factories in the mountains, and the group-style development of the fireworks industry has taken off. In the 20 years from 1992 to 2012, the output value of Liuyang's fireworks industry increased by 70 times.

At the same time, Liuyang Fireworks has been looking for ways to solve the problem of fireworks ban and restriction.

"Safety" and "environmental protection" are put together with fireworks. Isn't it a little strange to see them?

In fact, "little smoke", "sulfur-free" and "less dust" have become key words in Liuyang fireworks production in recent years.

In 2005, Liuyang started the "three major revolutions" in the field of fireworks, focusing on the research and development of new materials, new processes, and new products. In 2007, the government began to use 1.5% of the direct tax revenue from fireworks as a special fund for the development of fireworks.

Light the fuse and run away while covering your ears, just to hear the sound in the smoke? Today's Liuyang fireworks are no longer the two-kickers and firecrackers in our childhood memories.

By adding animation elements to fireworks, they are interactive, interesting and full of social attributes. Liuyang’s ambition is to make fireworks a social media and a new art form, providing companionship on every day when people need to celebrate.

In 2021, Liuyang fireworks companies have set off more than 1,600 cultural tourism fireworks, with a total amount of approximately 300 million yuan, accounting for 85% of the national cultural tourism market.

Product innovation has also driven the growth of overseas markets. In the past, companies produced what foreign businessmen needed. With the rapid iteration of fireworks products in Liuyang, the model of what Liuyang has and what foreign companies choose is gradually taking shape. Southeast Asia and other regions are focusing on keeping up with the trend, and even the outer packaging patterns of the products must be similar.

To this day, Liuyang is still promoting the transformation and upgrading of the fireworks industry. From the Tang and Song Dynasties to today, Liuyang's enterprising spirit has made the fireworks industry brilliant and allowed Chinese manufacturing to continue to shine on the world stage.

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