You might not need your earplugs this Spring Festival since 700 cities across China are restricting or outright banning the use of fireworks during the holiday.

There has been a slow movement towards banning fireworks, which some argue is outdated, messy, and leads to air and noise pollution. As a result, 138 cities have banned them outright, including five provincial capitals, 30 cities, and 103 county-level cities. We wish we could tell you specifically which ones, but the list wasn’t published.

Another 536 cities across China have implemented restrictions on firework use, including four first-level administrative subdivisions (directly governed cities), 19 provincial capitals, 111 prefecture level cities, and 402 county-level cities.

The clampdown is, naturally, angering some Spring Festival purists who say lighting roman candles is a right of passage and ensures good luck. For those people, we can only recommend these newfangled electronic fireworks.

Related:

• Chinese Wonder if Spring Festival Fireworks Have Outlived Their Usefulness