Loud firecrackers

Huang Jiani, a former resident, says the show reminded her of the days when people could still set off firecrackers downtown during the Spring Festival holiday.

"Businesspeople believed that larger and louder firecrackers would bring greater fortunes in the Lunar New Year. On the eve of Spring Festival, restaurant managers would set off boxes of firecrackers larger than TV sets in the middle of the street. The deafening sounds could be heard until sunrise," Huang recalls.

"The sounds got even louder at midnight of the fourth night of the Lunar New Year as this is when people welcome the God of Wealth.

"I still remember the smell of smoke entering the room when we opened our windows the next morning. And when we left home, we had to make our way through thick, red debris of exploded fireworks that completely enveloped the street."

Yang Junzhou contributed to this story.