Going to China to light fireworks...

[uraniumsalute]

There is no topic to put it in, so I might as well put it here, since PyroU about operates the same way, with misc pyro threads.

Obviously not everyone can afford this, but I think it would be very cool if we can contact every other pyro forum out there, and in a year or so, we can plan to have a bunch of people take a group vacation of sorts to Liuyang, China. For those who aren't aware, this is where the majority of all fireworks come from.

A few videos to make your mouth water:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T6O6FOKl6k


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021Y0IaD22Y

I have done a decent amount of research into the city, so allow me to give a brief background on it:

There are no fireworks laws here. You can go to a shop, buy a 1.3G cake from it, and shoot it a few hundred feet away in the park. There is an entire shopping area devoted to fireworks too, hundreds of stores. They sell every component needed for the producing of fireworks....automated machines, fuse, chemicals, rocket noses, etc etc. And of course, many are selling completed fireworks too. These aren't the kind of fireworks you see in a tent in the US either....:D Cakes 3-5", large ground salutes, massive skyrockets, cases of shells, and everything else for practically pennies on the dollar, since the cost of travel isn't factored in at all (since they are manufactured just a few miles away, if that). There are many large parks and areas to light everything.

If you watch the videos and see those large cakes, they only cost $5-10, and obviously the smaller ones fractions of that. 72/1 cases of 4" ti salutes are ~$7-9 USD. Rolls of firecrackers (not the 50mg BS) for just a few dollars. I can go on and on and on.....if you take a few thousand there and stay for a week, you will live like an absolute pyro king. :cool:

In all honesty, the most expensive part is the flight itself. Because of the conversion rate, you can get a room at a 4 star hotel for just $50-70/night, and a little more for the larger rooms.

Anyway, while it would be cool to go just by yourself, it would be incredible to see 20-100 or more people all there at night, going crazy and lighting whatever they want. A few people can take videos of it all, it would be THE pyro event of the year.

I am done talking, I can go on talking about this forever. What does everyone think? Of course it would take some preparation, and more would have to happen then a bunch of people talking on a bulletin board, but who knows, maybe I am on to something here....

To see more videos of fireworks in China, click the link in my signature line, and go to "favorites." Mostly everything I favorited is footage from Chinese New Year, and you can see the caliber of fireworks people are playing with.

One more link: some videos of Liuyang itself, and of course people playing with fireworks there. http://www.youtube.com/user/NumptySixtyNine

[uraniumsalute]

Bumping this so it gets a little more exposure. Regardless of how you feel of the idea of going, still check out the videos. They are very much worth watching.

[NormanNormal]

In general this sounds pretty awesome to me. I am not doubting you but it seems hard to believe they have no restrictions on buying and lighting fireworks whatsoever? What research have you done that shows this to be true? I did see that guys crazy videos of lighting all kinds of stuff off on public streets. Although he did things in a completely moronic fashion, lighting large firecrackers and throwing them at people out his window while driving, lighting shells in his hand and throwing them, lighting ground salutes on the street while cars and driving by...I found it funny one one scene a cop sees them and they point to the cop, he just waves at them and watches them light their fireworks, LOL.

As far as 20-100 guys going crazy and lighting all kinds of 1.3g product in the park.. sounds a little dangerous no offense. These 1.3g products can get you dead or worse pretty quick if you have dozens of guys like that in the video lighting them off in a completely unsafe fashion. If it could be done in an organized manner with some standard safety precautions then I could see it working. Otherwise no way am I putting my life on the line with guys lighting off big salutes and huge shells all over the place.

[Pembo0630]

Interesting. Although, if it was easy to travel halfway across the world for fireworks; there would be many more of us who went on a year to year basis :). Would we "commute" there together or would it be each man for himself? I can't even imagine the kind of preparation that it would take to do this. Would be a really cool thing if it worked out though, haha.

Slightly concerned about the fireworks laws, or the presumed lack of. I trust your research but still find it odd that there are no laws at all.

[californiapyro]

sounds great! idk if i could go, but it would be HEAVEN.

[uraniumsalute]

@ NormanNormal: When I say going crazy, I am talking about the volume of fireworks, not the behavior. :)

There is a lot of large open areas all over the city, so us being packed in one small park was never an issue. If proximity to the larger fireworks is an issue for anyone, fuse and/or efiring systems there are dirt cheap. As you said, as long as there is some loose structure, as to designating some areas for firecrackers/salutes, another for shells/cakes, and maybe another for rockets and other flying devices, all will be well.

As for Liuyang, it is a whole hell of a lot different than the US. You don't need a license to drive (just a car and some gas), laws in some areas are very lax, ESPECIALLY for the pyro industry, since that is by far the main industry in the area. For industry/business/manufacturing I am sure there are some common sense regulations so someone doesn't try putting a mag of shells in a residential building. I don't if it is by law or their own decision, but many factories there are quite safe, and take many precautions. My research comes from hours and hours of looking up things my own on the internet, plenty of tourism articles, and I have spoke with the person numerous times who made the two videos I have embedded in my first post. He taught me a good amount about how it all works there.

When I say there are no laws, I am talking about the type of fireworks you can purchase. If you have the money, nothing is stopping you from walking into a building and purchasing a 16-24" shell. Testing goes on in the city all over the place, morning to night, there are no designated places to test, just simply wherever you want. I don't know what few laws they do have, and this is speculation on my part, but I think this is all just common sense things. Fire larger caliber shells at least some distance from buildings, don't be completely reckless with lighting them, don't harm others or their property, etc. As I said again, I don't know what the laws (or consequences are), but it all comes out to being responsible. Light your fireworks anywhere that is reasonably safe, that is all there is to it.

@ Pembo0630: Commuting together I guess could make things easier, and it would be great if there was a volume discount if you are ordering a bunch of airline tickets. The only preparation I can really see from this is making sure people's schedules is open. It would probably take less than 2-3 weeks to get everything in order, airline tickets, converting currency, hotel reservations, etc etc. As for your comments on the laws, look at my above comment. I am sure there are SOME laws, but they aren't visible if you are being the slightest bit responsible and careful, which we definitely are. We are all adults, I don't think we will have to worry about safety amongst us. No one wants to get hurt.

[PyroJoel]

There is no topic to put it in, so I might as well put it here, since PyroU about operates the same way, with misc pyro threads.

Obviously not everyone can afford this, but I think it would be very cool if we can contact every other pyro forum out there, and in a year or so, we can plan to have a bunch of people take a group vacation of sorts to Liuyang, China. For those who aren't aware, this is where the majority of all fireworks come from.

A few videos to make your mouth water:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T6O6FOKl6k


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021Y0IaD22Y

I have done a decent amount of research into the city, so allow me to give a brief background on it:

There are no fireworks laws here. You can go to a shop, buy a 1.3G cake from it, and shoot it a few hundred feet away in the park. There is an entire shopping area devoted to fireworks too, hundreds of stores. They sell every component needed for the producing of fireworks....automated machines, fuse, chemicals, rocket noses, etc etc. And of course, many are selling completed fireworks too. These aren't the kind of fireworks you see in a tent in the US either....:D Cakes 3-5", large ground salutes, massive skyrockets, cases of shells, and everything else for practically pennies on the dollar, since the cost of travel isn't factored in at all (since they are manufactured just a few miles away, if that). There are many large parks and areas to light everything.

If you watch the videos and see those large cakes, they only cost $5-10, and obviously the smaller ones fractions of that. 72/1 cases of 4" ti salutes are ~$7-9 USD. Rolls of firecrackers (not the 50mg BS) for just a few dollars. I can go on and on and on.....if you take a few thousand there and stay for a week, you will live like an absolute pyro king. :cool:

In all honesty, the most expensive part is the flight itself. Because of the conversion rate, you can get a room at a 4 star hotel for just $50-70/night, and a little more for the larger rooms.

Anyway, while it would be cool to go just by yourself, it would be incredible to see 20-100 or more people all there at night, going crazy and lighting whatever they want. A few people can take videos of it all, it would be THE pyro event of the year.

I am done talking, I can go on talking about this forever. What does everyone think? Of course it would take some preparation, and more would have to happen then a bunch of people talking on a bulletin board, but who knows, maybe I am on to something here....

To see more videos of fireworks in China, click the link in my signature line, and go to "favorites." Mostly everything I favorited is footage from Chinese New Year, and you can see the caliber of fireworks people are playing with.

One more link: some videos of Liuyang itself, and of course people playing with fireworks there. http://www.youtube.com/user/NumptySixtyNine

I got a question

What year were fireworks first manufactured of course in Liuyang? And what year was fireworks first exported from Liuyang across the globe?

[PyroManiacs]

I got a question

What year were fireworks first manufactured of course in Liuyang? And what year was fireworks first exported from Liuyang across the globe?

http://www.history.com/news/fireworks-vibrant-history

[PGH_Pyro]

yeah it's pyro heaven, over there. not nearly as many rules/regulations and etc.

[Niceshellsdude]

I would be very interested in going over there as a firework tourist. Would be a helluva experience.