As the hometown of Li Jin, the "capital of China's fireworks" and the "ancestor of fireworks", Liling carries a thousand-year-old firecracker culture and shines with the legendary light of gorgeous fireworks. Today, here is one of the four main production areas of firecrackers in the country, there are 176 fireworks and firecracker production enterprises, fireworks products have 9 categories, more than 4,000 varieties, accounting for one-tenth of the global market share, especially firecrackers, combined fireworks, spray flowers and small fireworks and other product advantages are the most prominent, and a large number of excellent enterprises and well-known brands have emerged.
With the approach of the 5th China Fireworks and Firecrackers Expo and the 2024 Liling Fireworks and Firecrackers Fair, Liling Financial Media sent a number of groups of reporters to go deep into the fireworks production areas such as Lijin Town, Pukou Town, Wangxian Town, Baitutan Town and Nanxiang Area in Liling City, starting from the aspects of industry, ecology and market, to explore the roots and context of such a gorgeous "Lihua", and reveal the reason why Liling fireworks culture is endlessly thriving in inheritance and innovation.
The crowd of people, hearty laughter, brilliant fireworks, and swirling smoke rise in the air of the winter night and are reflected on the sparkling water surface of the Lujiang River...... This scene took place on both sides of the Liling River on Chinese New Year's Eve.
The year is different from the "taste", but the happiness brought by fireworks to Liling people will never fade.
In Liling, there is such a small town: there is the largest "Gatling" production plant in Liling; the export share of small rotary fireworks here accounts for 90% of the world's total; there are only 2,300 employees here, but it has created an output value of 590 million yuan; the "fairy stick" that constantly spits out colorful fireworks in the hand, the "step by step" that rotates and changes colors after ignition, and the "Gatling" Internet celebrity product with fast firing speed and fierce firepower...... All kinds of fireworks can be found here.
Traditional industries are endless, passed down from generation to generation, how does this small ancient town of Tang Xuanzong give "Liling Wang Xianshan" to contract young people to be happy?
According to the dosage and the size of the danger that can be posed, fireworks products are divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. It is generally believed in the industry that small fireworks products refer to fireworks products other than combined fireworks and some firecrackers in C and D grade products. Therefore, small fireworks products have the characteristics of high safety and variety.
"The ex-factory price of this product is about 2 yuan, the price is not expensive, and the process is complex, so it has always been in short supply, and it is out of stock all year round. In Hunan Rongsheng Export Fireworks Manufacturing Co., Ltd., located in Shenxi Village, Wangxian Town, a rotating lift-off product called "Step by Step Lift" is popular in the market because of its fun and ornamental characteristics.
Liu Juan, the legal representative of the company, introduced that this product will rotate and rise into the air after ignition, like an elf dancing in the night sky, and after flying to a certain height, it will return to the ground and fly to a higher sky again. Because the whole process can fly three times, and the maximum height can reach more than 40 meters, the locals are used to calling it "three-step flying".
"If you want to achieve the effect of three increases, the charging process is very complicated, and other products may only need to press the medicine three or five times, but the 'three-step fly' needs to be pressed more than a dozen times, and a person can only press 100 cakes a day, which cannot realize the mass production of machinery, and it is more dependent on the master's skill and experience. Liu Juan said that after the popularity of "three-step flying", there were also imitations in the industry, but they could not achieve the same quality. Last year, the company applied for a patent for the "three-step flight".
It is such a small product, but it occupies the American market and is sought after by young people in China. At present, there is only one company in the market for the production and sales of Rongsheng fireworks, with an annual factory of nearly 20,000 boxes. When lit, it emits a colorful light and rotates in the shape of a jellyfish, and a sunflower that spins and lifts into the air like a windmill when ignited...... It can be said that the fireworks that young people love to play can be produced by Rongsheng. Last year, the company had an annual output of more than 200,000 boxes and an annual output value of 40 million yuan. This year, the company also launched its own fireworks brand "Attraction".
In recent years, the fireworks market has changed from "selling products" to "selling ideas" in the past, and has begun to extend to the upstream of the value chain. Consumer demand has also changed from "listening to sounds" and "watching performances" to "having fun", and the fireworks industry is being redefined.
"Wolf Warrior Troops", "Galaxy Pioneer", "Mini Flying Man" and other series of rocket fireworks are the main products of Beitang Export Fireworks Manufacturing Co., Ltd., last year, the company set up its own brand "Space Bear", focusing on the German and domestic markets, loved by young people at home and abroad.
In the Beitang export exhibition hall, the reporter also saw a unique product "Insect Record", which is the first flying toy fireworks in the industry that can learn insect knowledge, known as "the most beautiful fireworks book". There are 11 different butterfly-shaped fireworks toys in each box, which seem to bloom in the air as if they were beautiful butterflies blooming in the air, and the product also comes with an encyclopedia of butterflies, detailing the morphological characteristics and geographical distribution of different butterflies, which is entertaining and educational.
"The current fireworks industry should change its traditional thinking and bring more refreshing experiences in light, sound, color, shape, smoke and other effects, so as to improve market recognition and share. Chen Tao, general manager of Beitang Export, said.
In the past two years, when talking about Internet celebrity fireworks, the first thing that comes to people's minds is "Gatling". Due to its fast rate of fire, fierce firepower and amazing fireworks effect, the "Gatling" fireworks became popular on social media, and quickly became an Internet celebrity product that was snapped up by the whole people, and even hard to find.
Do you know where the largest "Gatling" production plant in Liling is? That's right, it is located in Wangxian Town, Liling Longpo Fireworks Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which covers an area of 180 acres, and was acquired by Zhongzhou Fireworks after the benchmarking transformation last year, and under normal production conditions, it can produce 1,500 pieces of "Gatling" per day.
"On each of our products, who made it, how many work numbers, who injected drugs, and who pulled the cylinder are reflected, and we can find problem products from the source. Now the market recognition of our products is quite high. Wu Jiande, director of the company's production plant, introduced.
The popularity of "Gatling" has also driven the hot sales of other small products. On the short video platform during the Chinese New Year, in addition to "Gatling", various photo artifacts "Electric Light Flower", "Morning Light Flower" and "Fairy Stick" that flicker with stars during the fireworks are also eye-catching.
Have you ever seen the "Romantic Flower Language" in the shape of a rose, the "Star Wish" in the shape of a heart and a five-pointed star, and the "Confession Artifact" in the shape of "1314", "520" and "love...... In Qiangtai Fireworks Co., Ltd., there is no shape that you can't see, only what you can't imagine.
"Fireworks products meet the needs of the future consumer market for safety and entertainment, and everyone loves to play. These Internet celebrity looks are all aimed at young people and children. Hu Xichu, the person in charge of production of the enterprise, said that the electric light flower is a very safe one in the fireworks industry. Because of its outstanding "good looks", it is loved by the public among hand-held fireworks. Their products also have obvious seasonal characteristics, and sales are booming during Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, 520, etc. Last year, the company had an annual output of 400,000 boxes of hand-held fireworks, with an annual output value of 40 million yuan.
Young people's pursuit of fireworks has made fireworks a "traffic password" on social platforms. Whether it is the fireworks craze set off by the Douyin Internet celebrity fireworks "Gatling", or all kinds of strange fireworks on the Internet, on major social platforms, the number of likes, comments, and retweets of fireworks-related videos is considerable, which directly promotes the rise of fireworks-related consumption.
"Every industry needs to stick to it, and if you keep it, there will be a wave of outlets. Those who don't hold it, always chase the wind, and will eventually be blown away by the wind. "To do this business, you have to stick to it, and blindly following the trend will only suffer your own losses." On the premise of being able to achieve production, enterprises should develop more products with their own characteristics, especially cost-effective products. For the future development of small product fireworks, Chen Tao and Liu Juan are also thinking.
Small products are inherited in the historical process of the development of China's fireworks culture, containing rich cultural elements of fireworks, and are irreplaceable by industrialized products. There are 23 fireworks and firecracker enterprises in Wangxian Town, including 14 enterprises above the designated size and 9 small product fireworks production enterprises, with nearly 100 kinds of products. In 2023, the output value of Wangxian Town's fireworks industry will be 590 million yuan.
You can always believe in the happiness brought by Liling small product fireworks, just as you can always believe that life will only get better and better.