Shanghai government issued the strickest ban on setting off fireworks and firecrackers this year with the aim to improve air quality. [Photos by Gao Erqiang / China Daily]

A report about the positive effects of Shanghai's ban on fireworks received a thumbs-up from the public, Beijing News reported on Wednesday. The paper further comments:

Before Spring Festival, government officials in Shanghai expressed concerns about the enforcement of the new regulation released on Jan 1, worrying residents would not accept the ban on fireworks. But the air pollution the city encountered during last year's biggest holiday meant residents obeyed the ban much better than expected this year.

Residents in Chinese cities have been rightly concerned about the poor air quality. From 8 pm on the eve of Chinese Lunar New Year to 6 am the next morning, more than 200 cities across the country experienced heavy or hazardous pollution; 66 of those cities even saw the air quality index exceed the scale.

Of course the cities shrouded in the severe smog should blame a habitual laziness in their governance of local authorities, since Shanghai's enforcement of a comprehensive ban achieved its desired effect and won netizens' applause.