"If there wasn't a ban, it would be disastrous," said Kuang Jiawei, a bank worker in Guangzhou. "There would be more fire hazards, as well as air pollution that would threaten people's health, like what is happening in Beijing."

Although setting off fireworks is regarded as a tradition during the Spring Festival holiday, many city governments, like those is Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, banned fireworks in the 1990s in response to fire dangers and growing concerns over air pollution. But most of the bans were later repealed following vociferous protests from the public.

"People have been celebrating the festival with the sound of crackling fireworks for 1,000 years," said Wang Zuoji, a 71-year-old expert on Beijing's culture and folk arts. "If you prohibit fireworks, you will ruin the festive atmosphere."

"I prefer retaining traditions, but a high fire risk doesn't have to be the price you must pay, because firecrackers don't necessarily have to be made to be dangerous," Wang said.

Traditionally, firecrackers were composed of powder wrapped up in paper rolls as thin as chopsticks, but now they are on sale in various sizes and shapes, some of them being as large as a watermelon.

"Fireworks kill people every year," said Wu Zuolai, a researcher at the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

In order to reduce the risks, Wu called on the government to prohibit customers from buying and setting off fireworks, and instead to organize official displays in public places during the Spring Festival.

In a recent online survey carried out by huanqiu.com, 45 percent of the 23,369 respondents said they were in favor of resuming the bans on fireworks. The rest said they wanted to stick with tradition.