Pollution fears dampen fireworks sales

Fireworks sales fell sharply in Beijing during Spring Festival, with more people shunning them because of air pollution concerns.

Residents in the capital bought 195,000 boxes of fireworks from Lunar New Year's Eve on Jan 30 to Feb 4, a decline of 38 percent from the same period last year, according to figures from the municipal public security bureau.

Fireworks were also set off for shorter periods during the holiday, the bureau said, adding there had been no reports of deaths or eye injuries.