{"id":60101184,"date":"2025-09-25T16:40:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T15:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=news_digest&p=60101184"},"modified":"2025-09-26T14:35:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T13:35:44","slug":"outdoor-brands-fireworks-display-in-tibetan-himalayas-sparks-backlash-in-china","status":"publish","type":"news_digest","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/outdoor-brands-fireworks-display-in-tibetan-himalayas-sparks-backlash-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Outdoor brand\u2019s fireworks display in Tibetan Plateau sparks backlash in China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 19 September, outdoor brand Arc\u2019teryx staged a fireworks display in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, drawing public criticism for potential impacts on an ecologically fragile environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Videos<\/a> of the \u201cRising Dragon\u201d promotional display showed rounds of zigzag-shaped fireworks, created in collaboration with fireworks artist Cai Guoqiang, being launched in the Chaqionggangri mountain ridge in Tibet\u2019s Shigatse prefecture at an altitude of up to 5,000 metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Event organisers subsequently said<\/a> they had taken several environmental measures, including using biodegradable materials and luring small animals such as pikas away from the launch zone using salt blocks. They added that residue from the fireworks was cleaned up immediately after the event, with nearby vegetation restored to prevent ecological damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite securing local government approval, the display triggered widespread criticism<\/a> from Chinese internet users, some of whom saw it as destructive, reported People\u2019s Daily. Experts such as Gu Yourong, a board member of the China Wild Plant Conservation Association and associate professor at Capital Normal University, raised concerns<\/a> about the potential harm caused to alpine vegetation, soil and wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arc\u2019teryx and Cai both issued public apologies<\/a> on 21 September. The same day, the Shigatse Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government launched an investigation into the matter, reported<\/a> Beijing News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gu noted<\/a> that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is one of China\u2019s most ecologically fragile regions. Once alpine meadow vegetation in the region is damaged by explosions, it is extremely difficult to restore. He said that efforts such as luring pikas with salt blocks are ineffective as they tend not to stray far from their burrows. Meanwhile, the cornstarch used in the display, even if biodegradable, is still a foreign biological material whose decomposition rate in low temperatures and at high altitudes is unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gu said the event could potentially face legal risk under the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law<\/a> if it damaged vegetation, but that this can only be determined with detailed post-event evaluation and monitoring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Dialogue Earth\u2019s previous <\/em>piece<\/em><\/a> on how climate change is impacting the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Outdoor brand Arc\u2019teryx staged a fireworks display in the Tibetan Himalayas, drawing criticism for potential impacts on an ecologically fragile environment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60006649,"template":"","categories":[764],"tags":[523,560,580],"country":[20000110],"digest-collection":[50039911],"class_list":["post-60101184","news_digest","type-news_digest","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature","tag-conservation","tag-law","tag-policy","country-china"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOutdoor brand\u2019s fireworks display in Tibetan Plateau sparks backlash in China | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Outdoor brand Arc\u2019teryx staged a fireworks display in the Tibetan Himalayas, drawing criticism for potential impacts on an ecologically fragile environment\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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