I’ve mentioned this story once before on this site but I find it so amusing that I decided to share it one more time in light of America’s Independence Day.  For any person who has lived in China during the Spring Festival you’ll appreciate what these women were trying to do.  Absolutely true story.

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Once upon a time, in a small town in the northern part of Xinjiang there lived two women who were English teachers.  Hardworking, dedicated, and reliable, these women usually stayed under the radar and provided no problems for the school or the local police bureau.  Nobody had taken the time to see that these women were frustrated, and they had spent much time prior to this July 4th planning to exact their revenge.

The anger began building earlier that year during the days leading up to and immediately following Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year.  All throughout the country, for anywhere from three to seven days, the deafening sound of Chinese firecrackers (see an example video I posted earlier) reverberate off every wall in the city creating an almost unbearable coffin of noise.  Very few foreigners can live through this experience without complaining even a little or just leaving the country, but these women went a step further.

Pooling their resources they had the foresight to buy boxes full of the few remaining firecrackers in the city and store them away in their apartment for four months.  Forget the fire hazard, this was war.  On the outside these women were the perfect English teachers who had quickly adapted to expat life in China, but their closet spoke differently.

Four months later on July 4th these boxes of firecrackres came out of hiding and were unloaded in the small neighborhood courtyard.  Most of these local Chinese people had no idea today was a special day in America, but they were about to find out.  As lights began to turn off and people drifted to sleep, two matches were lit.

And it didn’t stop.  Not for 30 minutes, and even then it wasn’t because they ran out of firecrackers! The police had arrived as well as the school officials and practically the entire neighborhood.  Nobody was sleeping at this late hour due to the incredible racket the firecrackers had made.  These women were crazy, they could all agree on this, but what to do with them?

In the end the firecrackers were confiscated and everybody was sent home.  A warning was issued but no action was taken.  The battle may have been lost, but these two women demonstrated a resolve and a bravery not often found in your typical expat in China.  They told China what most of us here only wish we could say:

“We hate your noisy firecrackers!  The least you could do is make ‘em look pretty.”