China makes 90% of the world's fireworks, with Liuyang as its production capital

Fireworks usage on Independence Day comes from their celebratory use in ancient China

Burning bamboo stalks produces a small explosion that was believed to ward off evil spirits. As knowledge of fireworks, which initially used these stalks, carried over into other cultures, so did their use to promote good luck and celebration.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which date back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality

When bamboo in China was tossed into fire in 200 BCE, there was an explosion. About 1000 years later, around 800 CE, an alchemist searching for secrets to immortality mixed sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate together, leading to gunpowder. That mixture was then packed into bamboo or paper tubes, leading to fireworks.

One Chinese businessman controls 70% of the fireworks entering the US

A warehouse explosion in 2008 forced all pyrotechnic shipments to travel through the Shanghai port under three special permits Ding Yan Zhong was given. Since then, he has established a near-monopoly over the global fireworks distribution chain, with logistics and shipping hubs in China and California. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Firework-related celebrations include an annual summer celebration in El Salvador, where residents throw kerosene-soaked balls to commemorate a 1658 volcanic eruption

Another memorable tradition takes place in Vrontados, Greece, with people in two rival churches firing bottle rockets at each other's bell towers in an event known as the Rocket War. Yet another tradition occurs in Tainan City, Taiwan, fifteen days into the Chinese lunar calendar, with celebrants donning protective gear and attempting to get hit by fireworks—a tradition dating back to the late 1800s when residents asked the god of war for help with a raging cholera epidemic, with a similar display.

Firecrackers on Lunar New Year originated to ward off evil spirits

Many countries have attempted to ban firecrackers, though some rolled back those restrictions for the sake of the holiday. This tradition, along with numerous other practices, has evolved for decades since the origin of the festival.

The last day of the Lunar New Year culminates in the Festival of Lanterns

The Festival of Lanterns celebrates the first full moon of the year. Elaborate, colorful light displays are held throughout China, with many regions having their own unique traditions, from the candle-lit lanterns in the south to the elaborate lighted ice sculptures common in the northeast.

Watch a drone flight through a fireworks display

This video explores the history, construction, and preparation of modern fireworks displays, including creating gunpowder from scratch. Experimentation with fireworks underwater is also featured, but they require special materials to prevent water from infiltrating the fireworks shell.

The Ruggieri family of pyrotechnicians innovated on European fireworks displays

The Ruggieri family transformed fireworks from military to theatrical displays by focusing on artistry. Claude Ruggieri's knowledge of chemistry allowed him to produce vivid green fireworks, a first in Europe.

See how fireworks are made and which metals are responsible for different colors

This roughly five-minute video breaks down details about how pyrotechnicians make fireworks, including that magnesium is responsible for white fireworks, copper salts for blue, and charcoal for orange.

Variations in rapidly expanding gas and mechanical elements produce fireworks sounds

Chemical compounds designed to vibrate rapidly when ignited produce whistling, screeching sounds, while crackles and pops are created by small star pellets inside the firework, which explode one after another quickly. Fluttering and chirping sounds are produced by spinning elements that rotate rapidly as the firework ascends.

Fireworks make a loud booming sound after exploding due to air expanding faster than the speed of sound.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The most fireworks launched from a pyrotechnics suit is 642

Frenchman Laurent Nat, a pyrotechnics artist and performer with over 10 years of experience, set the world record on June 13, 2014. The suit, inspired by clothes worn by professional firefighters, is made out of 100% cotton and incorporates stilts to allow fireworks to be fired in all directions.

A New York fireworks ban necessitated a new way to ring in the New Year

In 1906, the city banned fireworks displays, forcing the Times Square celebration to find a new centerpiece. The Times commissioned Jacob Starr, a Ukrainian immigrant who worked for Strauss Signs, to develop an ornament. He returned with the now-iconic New Year’s ball.

The Four Great Inventions are historically significant Chinese technological advancements

The inventions of paper, gunpowder, printing, and the compass advanced civilizations worldwide by spreading knowledge, enhancing warfare, and improving navigation.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Shenzhen, China is known as the 'Silicon Valley of Hardware'

The "Silicon Valley of Hardware" is a major manufacturing hub. This WIRED documentary from 2016 does a deep dive into how this Chinese city's practice of copycat manufacturing alongside its innovative culture has made it China's own Silicon Valley.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

How cigarettes took over China

In 2022, China had a fifth of the world's population and bought nearly half of the world's cigarettes. This investigation explores how China became plagued by tobacco consumption, something epidemiologists say will strain the country's health system...

China has a ‘ghost town of abandoned mansions’

This video shows how China’s property bubble deflated as new-home sales collapsed and more than 50 developers defaulted. In Shenyang, an abandoned “ghost town” reveals the fallout of a boom built on debt and overbuilding that could no longer be sustained.

The dragon has been central to Chinese culture since ancient times

One of the most recognizable symbols in Chinese culture, the dragon is known as a mighty yet often benevolent creature. The dragon is capable of interacting with gods in the heavens; it can turn invisible, shape-shift, and control the weather. These features made the mythological creature hugely significant to the Chinese people because if they could summon dragons, other aspects of their life could improve.

See the world's longest glass-bottom bridge in China

China's Huangchuan Three Gorges Scenic Area sports the world's longest glass-bottom bridge, spanning over 1,700 feet. Designed by the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University, it stands 660 feet above the Lianjiang River. The bridge features bright red towers, an 29-foot-wide deck with three layers of thick glass, and can support 500 people. The bridge surpassed the previous record-holder, a 1,600-foot bridge in Hebei province.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for lithium-ion battery development

Stanley Whittingham developed the first functional lithium battery in the early 1970s, while John Goodenough doubled its electrical potential in 1980 by replacing the cathode, thereby enhancing its commercial viability. Five years later, Akira Yoshino developed an anode using carbon material, reducing the risk of flammability.

As of 2022, China has the largest reserve of rare earth elements

At 37.9% of estimated global reserves, China possesses twice the amount of REEs as Vietnam, the next closest nation. REEs, or lanthanides, are a set of 17 elements on the periodic table, which, alongside scandium and yttrium, share similar chemical properties that make them difficult to separate from within ores.

View a photo essay of renewable power landscapes in China

Using a drone, Chinese photographer Weimin Chu captured the deployment of solar and wind power installations across the country, which accounted for half of all global installations in 2025. The images show modern infrastructure juxtaposed with natural landscapes and was featured in an award-winning exhibition presented by Greenpeace in 2025.

Local limestone made waterproof cement for the Erie Canal

In 1818, engineer Canvass White discovered that limestone near Chittenango, New York, could be processed into hydraulic (or waterproof) cement. This breakthrough replaced costly European imports, enabling watertight locks and aqueducts and revolutionizing American construction.

The world's longest-burning fire

This coal fire in New South Wales, Australia, a common occurrence at coal mines, has been burning for at least 5,500 years, and shows no signs of stopping.

LSD (better known as acid) was created in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann

Lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD or acid, was first developed synthetically in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann. It's since become a linchpin for an entire aesthetic, fueled a counterculture movement, and is being studied for potential therapeutic uses.

Scientists have diverted the path of lightning using lasers

A proof of concept for a laser protection system, which could be used to protect launchpads and airports in the future, was conducted on the Säntis mountain in northeastern Switzerland. Rapid laser pulses heated air molecules, creating a more conductive, 50-meter (164-foot) path for the electrical discharge to travel through.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.