Bright flashes and loud booms have rocked urban Beijing during this year's Spring Festival though posters reading "firecrackers forbidden" are seen in major streets and small lanes reminding the residents of the city's 11-year-old ban on the festive but often dangerous explosives.

Beijing's eight urban districts and some suburban areas have banned firecrackers since 1993, but most Beijingers are still reluctant to farewell to what had been a traditional mark of joyous occasions for generations of Chinese.

During a brief interview with Xinhua reporters Sunday, many passersby admitted having lit firecrackers downtown on Wednesday, the eve of the Chinese New Year, though they knew of the ban.

The main reason they gave was "it was not festive enough without firecrackers."

"I know from childhood that the loud booms of firecrackers ward off evil and bring in a new year," said Zhang Donghua, 46. "I joined the crowds of merrymakers in the street when I found it boring to switch the remote control from one channel to another, only to find boring TV programs."

"The ban was applauded by many people when it began because less injuries and fires were reported," said a citizen who requested anonymity, "but as the years go by, people have started to wonder why this special time of the year should be celebrated in silence."

Xu Chunhua, 13, said his father had bought him enough firecrackers to last for two weeks. "I wanted the loud booms to take away all my bad luck over the past year," said Xu, "I don't remember having lit a firecracker since I was seven or eight."

Feng Jicai, a renowned writer who upholds folk customs, said firecrackers were not just a means of entertainment, but a carrier of festivity as well. "The Chinese like to light firecrackers and lanterns on New Year's eve, with the belief that the brightness they bring scares away demons."

Feng said the centuries-old tradition was part of the Chinese national identity and should not be banned altogether in modern times.

"To avoid losing our own identity in a modern and globalized society, we should think of better ways to sustain our culture while minimizing its harms," he said.

Tianjin, a port city near Beijing, has exercised a more flexible ban, allowing firecrackers to be lit in downtown areas on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year and until 2:00 am on New Year's Day.

Out of safety considerations, the city has outlawed lighting of firecrackers close to railway stations, harbors, airport, schools, hospitals, gas stations and some other public facilities.

Thursday morning saw dustmen cleaning 400 tons of burnt firecrackers off Tianjin streets, and red-eyed Beijing policemen going home after patrolling downtown streets all night.

Police sources say firecrackers caused 141 fires, killed two people and injured 27 Wednesday night in Beijing's outskirts, where the festive explosives are largely allowed.

(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2004)