China's Fireworks Valley

Michael Girdley shares a story about visiting the "Silicon Valley" of fireworks manufacturing in China.

"The process of going to buy fireworks - there is a Silicon Valley of fireworks and it's in China. It's about a 2-hour flight from Hong Kong in the southeast of China. You go to this place and it's the same thing every day. The Chinese take you to a fancy dinner, always the same restaurant, same food. Then they take you to a factory, shoot you some fireworks, and hopefully you buy them. This happens for 6 days in a row.

After the 4th year of doing that, I was there with the team and we were driving along. I was just so sick of going to yet another fireworks factory because they all look the same - just the same little old ladies doing the same thing. All the fireworks workers are like 70 years old - they can't hire young people to work in fireworks factories.

I saw something and asked 'What is that over there?' They said 'Oh that's the box factory.' I said 'A box factory? Let's go over there.' The driver pulled over, went in, and the Chinese seller took us for a tour. It was an opportunity to understand how their culture really functions. He told us they're having a problem making boxes now because they can't put the wastewater directly in the river anymore. That's why things are so cheap in China."