Spring Festival gets deadly with holiday excess

SHENYANG - Spring Festival, which is generally a joyous time in China, does not always bring happiness.

Sudden deaths from heart attacks, wounds by fireworks as well as gastrointestinal disease were top threats during the past holiday.

According to the Shenyang first-aid center in Liaoning province, the death toll reached 259 in the city during the seven-day vacation. Most of the deaths were caused by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, an increase of 4.1 percent compared with last Spring Festival.