14 DAY TRIAL // About 500 years ago, blacksmiths in China who couldn't afford fireworks but who nonetheless wanted to light up a few to celebrate New Year got into the habit of melting whatever space pieces of iron they could find and hurling them at large stone walls.
When colliding with the stone walls, the molten iron would birth stunning displays of light not very different to fireworks. In time, the practice became a proper tradition, now known as Da Shuhua.
These days, blacksmiths in the village of Nuanquan, where the tradition started, like to experiment with mixtures of iron and other metals to create ever more impressive shows. They've even built a massive stone wall especially to throw molten metals at it.
Have a look at the videos and the photos below to get a better idea of how this celebration in China's Nuanquan village plays out. Fair warning though, this footage will probably make all the explosions you've ever seen in movies look like child's play.
Contrary to what some might assume, the blacksmiths who take part in this festival don't put on special equipment before getting to work throwing molten metals around using ladles. Rather, they wear clothes made from sheep skin and straw hats.
Oddity Central tells us that Da Shuhua takes place annually on the 15th day of the New Year Celebrations. Presently, there are only four certified molten metal throwers in the entire Wei Xian province.
