一
年中只有在为时一周的春节长假期间，你才能让人信服地说北京是一座安静的城市。中国首都平时不曾间断的动感，在那时好像几乎凝固下来。站在市中心的街道上，你可能只听到一片寂静。白天是这样的，但春节假期的夜晚，却是烟花爆竹的世界。一场震耳欲聋而又让人叹为观止的大型焰火狂欢，从除夕夜开始，中间偶有缓和，一直持续到15天过后的元宵节，至此传统节日才宣告结束。这场盛大表演不是由专业人员、而是由普通百姓上演的。这是他们用来吓退恶魔、祈求好运的传统方式（作为一种娱乐自不待言）。离节日大约还有一周时，商贩们就在全城的各大街角搭起棚子，准备向市民出售"军火"。
业余烟火师们可以从这些摊位买到的东西，其种类和威力都让人吃惊，至少让任何一位成长于美国的人感到吃惊。美国这几年相关规定有所松动，销售也很火爆，但某些州仍然不允许没有执照的业余人士燃放焰火，其他许多州则是严格限制。
因为常设于学校内的工厂发生过一些致命事故，中国的烟花爆竹工业长期背负恶名。近几年，这个行业在安全方面取得了重大改进。不过烟花爆竹这种东西仍有可能造成危险。北京曾有十几年不准在市中心燃放，直到2006年才取消禁令。禁令取消后，每年春节期间都有数百位市民受伤，不过多数都是轻伤。大家都知道，去年中央电视台的官员组织的一场焰火表演引燃一场大火，吞没了他们自己豪华新总部的一幢44层的塔楼（不过他们用的"弹药"比我们在街上能买到的威力更大）。今年，一场烟花引起的大火差不多完全烧毁了河北省内的一座古城门。
不过对于很多刚到北京的外国人来说，他们遇到的不是危险，而是噪音。烟花爆竹可以一直燃放到深夜，鞭炮像机关枪一样嗒嗒塔，烟花像迫击炮一样呼啸，礼花弹震撼地闷响，各种各样刺耳的爆炸声让人觉得这个城市像是战区一样。
有两种主要的应对方式。一是呆在自己的屋里，捂住耳朵，烦恼情绪一点点地上升。这是很多新来的外国居民（他们在春节期间没有选择离开北京）所采取的办法。另外一种应对方式，也是多数北京本地人的选择，就是跟着凑热闹。以前的淘气鬼（我们可以证明）可能会觉得采用这种办法而不是前一种办法更加带劲（当你点燃烟花爆竹时，至少你自己知道要响了）。正如文章中的视频所显示的，这劲头真是"火爆"啊。
Jason Dean
The weeklong Lunar New Year holiday is the only time of the year when one can conceivably describe Beijing as serene. The Chinese capital's usual constant motion seems to almost freeze, and it becomes possible to stand on a downtown street and hear - nothing.
During the day, that is. The nights of the New Year break belong to fireworks, an ear-splitting, eye-popping carnival of mass pyrotechnics that begins on New Year's Eve night and runs, with occasional lulls, until the Lantern Festival that ends the traditional holiday period 15 days later. The show is the product not of professionals but of average citizens, for whom fireworks are a traditional way to scare off bad spirits and bring good luck (not to mention have a lot of fun). They buy their ordnance from vendors who set up shacks on street corners across the city about a week before the holiday.
The variety and potency of what the amateur pyrotechnician can acquire from these stalls is astonishing-at least to anyone who grew up in the U.S., where despite liberalization in recent years and booming sales (PDF here), fireworks use by unlicensed amateurs remains banned in some states and heavily restricted in many others.
The fireworks industry in China, long notorious for deadly accidents in factories often set up in schools, has made major safety improvements in recent years. Still, this stuff can be dangerous. Beijing barred fireworks displays in its center for more than a decade, before lifting the ban in 2006. Since then, hundreds of city residents have been hurt each year in New Year's accidents, though most of the injuries are minor. Last year, of course, a fireworks display organized by officials at state broadcaster CCTV started a fire that gutted a 44-story tower in their own glitzy new headquarters complex - although they were using higher-power ordnance than what can be bought on the street. This year, fireworks triggered a blaze that nearly destroyed an ancient city gate in Hebei, the province surrounding the capital.
For many foreign newcomers to Beijing, though, it's the noise, not the danger, that incenses. The fireworks can continue well into the night, and the cacophony of explosions-the machine-gun rat-tat-tat of firecrackers, the mortar-like shriek of rockets, the concussive thuds of aerial shells-can make the city feel like a war zone.
There are two main responses. One is to sit in one's apartment, hands on ears, and get progressively more annoyed. This is the approach of many new foreign residents (those who don't leave the city for the holiday). The other-the choice of the vast majority of native Beijingers-is to join the fun. Former spoilsports (we can attest) can find it empowering to choose this option instead (when you set off your own fireworks, at least you know the noise is coming). As the attached video shows, it is, well, a blast.
Jason Dean
During the day, that is. The nights of the New Year break belong to fireworks, an ear-splitting, eye-popping carnival of mass pyrotechnics that begins on New Year's Eve night and runs, with occasional lulls, until the Lantern Festival that ends the traditional holiday period 15 days later. The show is the product not of professionals but of average citizens, for whom fireworks are a traditional way to scare off bad spirits and bring good luck (not to mention have a lot of fun). They buy their ordnance from vendors who set up shacks on street corners across the city about a week before the holiday.
The variety and potency of what the amateur pyrotechnician can acquire from these stalls is astonishing-at least to anyone who grew up in the U.S., where despite liberalization in recent years and booming sales (PDF here), fireworks use by unlicensed amateurs remains banned in some states and heavily restricted in many others.
The fireworks industry in China, long notorious for deadly accidents in factories often set up in schools, has made major safety improvements in recent years. Still, this stuff can be dangerous. Beijing barred fireworks displays in its center for more than a decade, before lifting the ban in 2006. Since then, hundreds of city residents have been hurt each year in New Year's accidents, though most of the injuries are minor. Last year, of course, a fireworks display organized by officials at state broadcaster CCTV started a fire that gutted a 44-story tower in their own glitzy new headquarters complex - although they were using higher-power ordnance than what can be bought on the street. This year, fireworks triggered a blaze that nearly destroyed an ancient city gate in Hebei, the province surrounding the capital.
For many foreign newcomers to Beijing, though, it's the noise, not the danger, that incenses. The fireworks can continue well into the night, and the cacophony of explosions-the machine-gun rat-tat-tat of firecrackers, the mortar-like shriek of rockets, the concussive thuds of aerial shells-can make the city feel like a war zone.
There are two main responses. One is to sit in one's apartment, hands on ears, and get progressively more annoyed. This is the approach of many new foreign residents (those who don't leave the city for the holiday). The other-the choice of the vast majority of native Beijingers-is to join the fun. Former spoilsports (we can attest) can find it empowering to choose this option instead (when you set off your own fireworks, at least you know the noise is coming). As the attached video shows, it is, well, a blast.
Jason Dean
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