No fireworks but bigger crowds over holiday
Police officers patrol the Qingxi Old Town area in Fengxian District during the holiday.
There were no reports of illegal firework use in the city during the Spring Festival holiday, Shanghai police said today.
Shanghai banned the use of fireworks and firecrackers in the area within Outer Ring Road in 2016.
On the fourth night of Chinese New Year — when people traditionally set off fireworks to welcome the God of Wealth — more than 300,000 community volunteers around the city patrolled alongside police officers to enforce the ban.
The city’s tourist sites and shopping hubs were much more crowded than previous Spring Festivals, as many non-natives of Shanghai did not return to their hometowns. Public safety was not an issue thanks to sufficient police patrols and smart surveillance applications.
The city’s expressways and surface streets were generally congestion-free, thanks to constant traffic monitoring and swift police interventions based on contingency plans.
