A shop assistant dashes away after lighting fireworks on the roadside in the city of Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province on Sunday, February 25, 2007. In accordance with traditional customs, most shops set off "opening fireworks" after the week-long Spring festival holiday to welcome in good luck for the New Year when they re-open. The number of fireworks set off on the footpaths and motorways disrupts traffic and the environment. A shop owner prepares for the "opening fireworks". A security guard extinguishes the dying embers from exploded fireworks with water. Cleaners clear the street of the debris from exploded fireworks. A street covered with debris from fireworks.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2007)