Fireworks industry

The industry behind China's hometown of fireworks

01 · History

A inherited craft

The history of Wanzai fireworks traces back to the Tang dynasty and flourished in the Song — a full millennium of development. According to the Wanzai County Annals, by the Daoguang reign of the Qing, Wanzai firecrackers were already "trading north and south, with merchants coming and going"; under the Guangxu reign, "men and women, young and old, all made their living from it", with products sold to Guangdong, Fujian and beyond. By the late Qing and early Republic, Wanzai had over 400 fireworks workshops employing more than 3,000 people — a full production-supply-sales industry chain.

In modern times Wanzai fireworks left their mark too: in April 1936, at Jiangxi's Hangzhou export exhibition, Wanzai's "Tongxinmao" and "Zhenshengwan" firecrackers both won certificates from the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Specialties Association; the Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai World Expo and National Day celebrations in the capital have all glittered with Wanzai fireworks.

The industry today

Scale

As of 2024, Wanzai County has 170 fireworks manufacturers, 86 trading companies and 200+ upstream and downstream enterprises, with total output of ¥23.3 billion — growing more than 20% a year for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023.

More than 150,000 people work in the industry — roughly a quarter of the county's population — earning about ¥4 billion in wages a year and contributing over 30% of the county's fiscal revenue. It is, in every sense, the pillar industry of local prosperity.

Markets

Wanzai makes over 4,000 varieties across nine major categories (by traditional use) — firecrackers, toy fireworks, display shells and more — sold across China and exported to more than 40 countries and regions.

Wanzai fireworks opened their overseas doors as early as the 1960s. Today exports span 11 major categories and nearly a thousand products, reaching the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia and beyond. In 2024, the county's fireworks exports reached US$264 million, up 6.5% year on year.

Technology and innovation

In recent years the Wanzai county government has held fast to the principle that "safety is the foundation, development the goal, brand the direction", pushing the industry's transformation and upgrading.

After successive rounds of national-standard upgrades, Wanzai's production has grown markedly more automated and intelligent, with stronger product safety. Local firms keep innovating: Huixinyuan, a national high-tech "little giant" enterprise, developed an industry-leading potassium-free, sulfur-free display shell — safer and cleaner — and has become a major supplier to Disney parks and Universal Studios worldwide, with exports topping ¥60 million in 2024.

In 2024, the Wanzai fireworks cluster was selected as a Jiangxi provincial SME characteristic cluster — a complete chain from raw materials through semi-finished and finished goods, transport and packaging, exhibitions and training, testing and certification, to R&D and professional displays.

03 · Culture & Tourism

Culture meets tourism

With its thousand-year fireworks craft as the key, Wanzai pioneered the "fireworks + ancient city" model, fusing fireworks culture with tourism into the distinctive brand "Kiss of Flames".

Wanzai Ancient City, a national AAAA-level scenic area, is built on the largest cluster of multi-surname Gan-style ancestral halls in China, layered with fireworks displays and other local culture — creating the "fireworks in Wanzai every Saturday" brand IP.

The ancient city was named one of China's first "national night-time culture and tourism consumption clusters", and its fusion of fireworks with cultural tourism made the national top-100 cultural heritage tourism cases. In the first half of 2024, Wanzai received 10.118 million visits and ¥7.497 billion in tourism revenue — up 24.9% and 24% year on year.

04 · Future

Looking ahead

Looking forward, Wanzai will keep focusing on high-quality growth of the fireworks industry: deepening trade with Belt-and-Road partners to expand overseas markets and upgrade its foreign trade, while continuing to push technology and product innovation toward more premium fireworks — and deepening the culture-tourism fusion, so the millennium-old flame burns brighter in the new era.

Wanzai is set on making its title of "hometown of Chinese fireworks" real in every sense — through industrial upgrading, cultural inheritance and tourism integration, achieving sustainable growth for the fireworks industry and new momentum for the local economy.

Experience the fireworks culture

In Wanzai you can visit fireworks manufacturers, learn the craft, watch spectacular displays and feel a millennium of fireworks culture.

See viewing spots