Guangzhou’s 2018 Spring Festival Fireworks Gala is canceled. How to fill the “loneliness” of the city’s Spring Festival?

Guangzhou’s 2018 Spring Festival Fireworks Party is canceled. How to fill the city’s “loneliness” during the Spring Festival? Xinhuanet, Guangzhou, February 12 (Reporter Wang Pan) On the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year...

Unlike other big cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou has been strictly enforcing the "whip ban" for a long time. While some cities are encouraging "whip limits" and are recognized and approved by a considerable number of citizens, Guangzhou, which bids farewell to the fireworks party, has completely missed the Spring Festival fireworks. Some netizens posted pictures of gorgeous fireworks parties in the past. While reminiscing about the glory, they also raised questions to city managers: How to fill the gap between urban life and traditional folk customs?

Netizens recall the "disappeared fireworks"

After the 2018 fireworks show was suspended, many Guangzhou citizens posted online to "reminisce" about the bright fireworks that once illuminated the night sky of Guangzhou and brought joy to countless people. "I remember that I was very excited when I went to Pazhou to watch the fireworks for the first time." "A round of fireworks was set off in the sky, and there were exclaims along the river. People with accents from all over the country were sighing, and suddenly I felt that this city was very good." "Now that it has been suddenly stopped, do you feel happy or a pity?" "Xiaoyou" and other netizens expressed their feelings this way.

Since 1995, the Guangzhou Spring Festival Fireworks Party has become a “New Year custom” that many citizens are familiar with. Every New Year's Day, citizens from all over the country and their whole families flock to the banks of the Pearl River to wait eagerly. In 2012, 510,000 citizens came to watch the event even though the outdoor temperature was only 5 degrees Celsius.

When issuing the relevant decision, the Guangzhou Municipal Government stated that the cancellation of the fireworks show was firstly to avoid the impact of fireworks on the urban atmospheric environment in Guangzhou, and secondly to save money. It is understood that the cost of setting off fireworks in 2012 was as high as 10 million yuan, close to 10% of the total annual budget of the Guangzhou Municipal Government Office.

One side has deep feelings and the other side has good reasons. Many people agree with the suspension, and many netizens insist that "saving money is not such a way to save money." On the evening of the 10th, some Guangzhou citizens lingering on the banks of the Pearl River also regretted not being able to see the fireworks. They felt, "This has been a tradition for many years. What a pity it is to cancel it!"

Urban life and traditional folk customs Collision

Due to the long-term "whip ban" in Guangzhou, after bidding farewell to the fireworks show, for the first time during the Spring Festival in the Year of the Snake, the city was completely without fireworks. The collision between urban life and traditional folk customs has left many netizens very entangled.

"Folklore inheritance has two characteristics. First, remote areas are easier to preserve than central areas. Second, the more developed the economy, the greater the expectation to continue traditional folk customs. The two sometimes promote each other, and sometimes conflict. How to deal with conflicts is a test for urban managers." said Ye Chunsheng, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University who has long studied folk customs.

For most Chinese people, setting off firecrackers is the most memorable Spring Festival custom, but for large and medium-sized cities, the retention of this custom is increasingly restricted. Guangzhou has further suspended fireworks shows this time after the "whip ban", mainly because fireworks will have a greater impact on the urban atmospheric environment.

"The problem is that when old folk customs are difficult to maintain, urban life will still continue, and people will still maintain a high demand for folk custom activities. There will be a gap in the gap, which needs to be filled by forming a 'new folk custom' that conforms to the characteristics of the times. If it is just canceled or banned blindly, it will not meet the needs of social development." Ye Chunsheng said.

Filling the gap requires "new wisdom" in urban management

In fact, the concerns of experts such as Ye Chunsheng are also the source of controversy among many netizens. Now, as Beijing further encourages "whip restrictions" and Guangzhou suspends fireworks shows, many netizens are asking: When fireworks and firecrackers need to be gradually withdrawn, what should we use to fill them?

"Originally, individuals were not allowed to set off fireworks, but now the centralized fireworks set off by the government have also been cancelled. Everyone is lamenting that the New Year has lost its flavor. Is there nothing else that can be done?" said a Guangzhou netizen.

According to some folklore scholars, the Spring Festival customs themselves have distinctive characteristics of farming traditions, and have also formed unique holiday consumption characteristics and habits. They contain valuable spiritual wealth, but also gradually show flaws and deficiencies with the development of the times. The ability of many customs to continue to be preserved and extended in rural areas while forming new practices and new models suitable for urban settlement life is the current focus worthy of discussion.

After this year’s fireworks display, Guangzhou took steps to compensate by strengthening other special annual activities and opening new activities. On the evening of the 10th, when the fireworks stopped rising, the light show held on the 600-meter-high Canton Tower attracted the attention of citizens. At the same time, cultural and sports activities such as lantern displays, garden lantern shows, variety shows, animation performances, and folk performances are also being further carried out to allow citizens to "have fun in the New Year."

"New Year's customs are never static. The key is that city managers must have a clearer understanding of this. They cannot just block things but not omit them. The real test is whether they can provide the public with a way of doing New Year's customs that not only retains traditional heritage but is also frugal and environmentally friendly." Ye Chunsheng said.