(TibetanReview.net, Sep22’25) – Preparations for the environmentally destructive fireworks took more than a week, encompassed a mountainous path of 3,000 metres over a 5,000-meter altitude, involved extensive use of drones, and the spectacle was displayed before a large crowd of invited guests. And yet Chinese authorities in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) act as if they knew nothing about it and have now formed a team to investigate the event’s violation of laws and regulations on environmental protection after an outbreak of online outrage.
China’s implementation of laws is arbitrary and selective, with violators often getting away with impunity if they are not seen as presenting a threat to the authority of the Party-state. This can especially be seen in the numerous instances in which Tibetans have been persecuted for protesting against environmentally devastating works being carried out in their neighbourhoods by Chinese companies.
The “ascending dragon” fireworks show was staged on Sep 19 evening in Gyantse County of Shigatse City, located at an altitude of about 5,500 meters in the Himalayas, as a collaboration between Arc’teryx, the outdoor sports brand that sponsored the fireworks show, and the fireworks designer Cai Guo-Qiang, sparking a series of online controversies regarding environmental protection, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Sep 21.
Shigatse city has now announced Sep 21 that an investigation team had been set up to look into the fireworks display that drew online attention after it was put online the same day. The report said the investigation team was immediately sent to the site for verification purposes, while follow-up actions will be taken based on investigation results and in accordance with laws and regulations.
The fireworks was stated to be meant to honor Mother Nature and communicate with the wider universe. But the spectacle backfired, quickly unraveling into a public relations crisis for both Cai and the outdoor brand when it appeared online.
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But the authorities had ample occasions to prevent the event from being held, if they were really interested to prevent it out of concern for the environment.
Fighting altitude sickness, sunburn, rain and hail, Cai and his fireworks team spent more than a week setting up the explosion trails — aided by drones that ran uphill 600-plus times, waterproof firework pots were placed at various points along the 3,000-meter pathway, reported wwd.com Sep 21.
Then, on Sep 21 afternoon, around 200 guests including local journalists, influencers, shopping mall representatives, VIP shoppers, 12 local primary school students and a living buddha witnessed the explosive work live.
The three-part fireworks display included a rainbow dragon that twirled around the mountain, a water dragon that interacted with the audience, and finally, a reference to the original work, a 2,500-meter golden dragon that reached toward the snowy mountain peaks, the report said.
Visuals of the livestreamed showcase quickly spread online and began trending on Weibo — Chinese netizens called the event “blowing up the mountains,” criticizing the project’s lack of environmental awareness and disrespect for the sacred mountains.
Related posts reached more than 2 million views on Weibo at the time of publication, the report said.
Cai has called it the realization of his childhood dream.
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The report also said that despite Cai’s efforts to highlight the environmental care behind his work — using biodegradable materials approved for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, relocating herdsmen and livestock, luring away small animals with salt bricks, and following up with debris cleanup and replanting — the message didn’t fully come across online.
Nevertheless, Huang Hong, influential fashion critic and WWD columnist, has written on Xiaohongshu, China‘s popular social commerce platform, “They say it’s biodegradable, but plastic can degrade in 10,000 years. We do not support this kind of irresponsible artists.”
The report said Chinese netizens not only called out the brand, which is owned by Chinese sportswear giant Anta, for executing the “tone deaf and arrogant” campaign, which they believed ran counter to the brand’s original commitment to nature conservation, but also began criticizing the local government for giving the explosive art piece the green light.
Citing a law on the ecological protection of the Tibetan plateau, a Chinese environmental lawyer has said any action causing damage to natural landscapes and grassland vegetation, such as littering, was banned and could result in a fine.
The law would apply even if there was insufficient information to determine either the extent of the fireworks damage or whether it was done in a protected area, she has added.
“We believe that the local governments have been somewhat negligent in their duties regarding plateau protection, given its extreme fragility and sensitivity. The large-scale use of fireworks is concerning,” the scmp.com Sep 21 quoted the lawyer as saying, declining to be named.
“We previously conducted research in the area. Restoration of the land is extremely difficult due to the harsh and delicate climate.”