China’s strictest regulations on fireworks and firecrackers will take effect May 1, imposing stricter limits on safety, noise, and chemical and explosive content.

The regulations were released on Oct. 31 last year by the nation’s top market regulator and come amid a spate of recent accidents, including a series of explosions this Spring Festival at fireworks shops in the eastern Jiangsu and central Hubei provinces that resulted in a total of 20 deaths. This month, China also launched a yearlong nationwide campaign to crack down on the retail and handling of illegal fireworks.

Seven previously separate standards on various types of fireworks will now be consolidated into a single unified framework — what officials call a “one-stop” industry guideline to simplify regulation. 

The new standards introduce guidelines on classification, safety requirements, and packaging, reducing permissible explosive content for some products, lowering acceptable noise levels, restricting the movement of fireworks, and banning certain chemical compositions.

Products are now more finely categorized into 11 major types and 25 subcategories to improve management and more accurately reflect their correct usage environments. For instance, the newly added C2 category comprises products suitable for use in densely populated urban areas, such as streets and public squares.

While previous regulations capped noise levels at 110 decibels for personal-use fireworks, the revised version sets differentiated limits based on product type and intended effects.

They also introduce clearer technical criteria, such as firecracker dimensions, and standardize labeling requirements, including product names, hazard classifications, and warnings. All information must be accurate and clearly visible.

In response to the growing popularity of mixed-product packages, the regulations also introduce specific safety requirements for such bundles. They prohibit the inclusion of explosive items such as double-bang firecrackers and certain combination fireworks.

Chen Guang, a professor at the School of Public Administration at Southwest Jiaotong University in the southwestern city of Chengdu, told domestic media that “The new rules help curb unlicensed and homemade fireworks products, effectively reducing the space for illegal and substandard goods.”

Although no official transition period has been specified regarding the use of products made before the new regulations take effect, Zhu Yuping, secretary-general of the National Fireworks and Firecrackers Standardization Technology Committee, told domestic media that products manufactured under the old standards before May 1 may continue to be sold within their three-year shelf life, provided they meet relevant requirements. However, all production after that date must comply with the new standards.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)