"The majority of fireworks sold in the UK are made in Liuyang – a large city in the Hunan Province. It is about 800km South of Beijing, and 650km North of Hong Kong.The city contains hundreds of small workshops, medium-sized units and large factory complexes. Many of them make small components for fireworks (just the fuses or the cardboard tubes, for example) while the biggest make a full range of domestic and professional grade fireworks which are shipped all over the world.Some people believe that fireworks were even invented in Liuyang in the 2nd Century BC when people discovered that sections of bamboo would burst loudly when thrown into a fire. 300 years later the Chinese invented gunpowder and found that when this was packed into those same sections of bamboo the effect was even more explosive. It is no surprise, then, that the artisans of Liuyang still make the majority of the world’s fireworks. And while there are excellent manufacturers in Japan, Malta, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, South America, and many other countries, the chances are that any firework you buy in the UK will have been made in Liuyang."
David Ainsworth ● 313d