Fireworks sales fizzle in capital

Many fireworks vendors in Beijing have made last-ditch efforts to boost their sales, offering big discounts throughout the capital on the Lantern Festival on Sunday.

But few said they expected the cheaper rates to help boost business in what many said was a quiet and unprofitable Chinese New Year.

"We have offered as much as a 70 percent discount for the last day, but there are still few customers," a female shop owner surnamed Liu in Chaoyang district told METRO yesterday.