More than 500 people in Beijing took an examination on Sunday
hoping to become legally certificated firecracker vendors.
The capital city's municipal government plans to license 2,254
retailers -- 400 more than last year -- to sell fireworks in
Beijing during the Spring Festival in February.
The firecrackers will be allowed to be sold in Beijing from Feb.
7 to March 4.
Beijing lifted a 12-year firecracker ban during last year's
Spring Festival. The lifting of the ban was aimed at reviving the
festive atmosphere.
Statistics released by the State Administration of Work Safety
show in the 20 years prior to Nov. 2005, there were 8,532 accidents
involving fireworks, which killed 9,349 people.
The two-hour exam in Beijing tested the candidates' knowledge of
China's laws and regulations on work safety and the special rules
governing fireworks and handling of emergencies.
(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2006)