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Nectar Gan

Guesthouse workers in Liucheng county in Guangxi province knew something had gone very wrong the second they heard the bang.
"It was huge. I could feel the tables and cups in the guesthouse shaking," a clerk told the Beijing Youth Daily.
The explosion destroyed the ticket office of Dapu township's bus station shortly before 4pm on Wednesday.
Over the next couple of hours 16 more blasts occurred around the county, killing seven people and injuring more than 50.
Within seconds of the bus station explosion, another blast took place about 400 metres away, knocking half of the dormitory of the county's animal husbandry bureau to the ground.

Li Acheng was sitting in his fruit store 350 metres from the collapsed building when the blast hit. The shock waves were so powerful they shattered some of his shop windows.
"I was shocked … My hair was flying in the air from the shock waves," the 30-year-old told the South China Morning Post.
"I walked outside to see what had happened and was almost hit by a falling window from the third floor," he said.
Read more: Guangxi county hit by another mail bomb blast as police step up hunt for mastermind
Three people were killed at the scene and five injured.
I walked outside to see what had happened and was almost hit by a falling window from the third floor
Li Acheng, resident
Minutes later, there was a blast at a fish stall at the local farmer's market. A few badly injured people were carried out by firefighters, said a witness, Qin, who was working at a dental clinic down the street.
About half an hour later, there was an explosion in the convenience store right next to Qin's clinic. "I ran outside, and saw people running out from the store. Everyone was in a panic."
On Qin's way home, he saw the wreckage of a tricycle outside the Chinese medicine hospital.

A store owner near the hospital told the Daily she heard more than 10 explosions after 4pm, including one in a flat in the residential block behind the hospital and another at a supermarket.
Photos of the blast sites taken by witnesses started to circulate on Weibo from 5pm. Local media were quick to pick up the story, followed by state media.
The county's work safety bureau sent out texts to residents at about 5.10pm, informing them of what it suspected were parcel bombs around the country and telling them not to unwrap recently received packages.
Shortly before 6pm, the county's public security bureau issued its first report on the incident, acknowledging a series of explosions had taken place in the afternoon. It listed 13 locations where explosions had been reported.
Liuzhou city's propaganda department issued a statement 20 minutes later, saying that initial investigations showed the blasts were caused by bombs hidden in courier parcels.
Read more: Safety rules no guarantee of security as parcel bombs slip through delivery checks in China
At about 9.20pm, Liuzhou police said they had launched a criminal investigation and identified a 33-year-old male suspect, surnamed Wei, from Dapu township, according to Xinhua.
The local government held a press conference after 9pm, announcing that 17 explosions had taken place from 3.15pm to 5.30pm, killing seven people, injuring another 51, and leaving two people missing.
After a quiet night, the county woke up to a new explosion at about 8am yesterday. The blast took place in a fifth-floor flat in a residential block. No one was injured.
"I'm so scared. I haven't gone out since returning to my home yesterday afternoon," Qin said hours after yesterday's blast.
"Who would have expected such a horrible thing would happen here in Liucheng."



A loud bang, then chaos: residents of Chinese town hit by string of parcel bombs recall horror ordeal

A partially collapsed building. Photo: Dickson Lee

The force of one of the blasts overturned a truck in Liucheng county. Photo: Dickson Lee



A blast victim is treated in hospital for injuries inflicted by a parcel bomb. Photo: AFP

The explosions damaged many buildings in Liucheng county. Photo: Dickson Lee

Chinese county hit by another mail bomb blast as police step up hunt for mastermind

Liucheng county residents survey a parcel bomb site.

Local residents look at damaged vehicles and to the street near by a partially collapsed residential building after an explosion reportedly caused by explosives hidden in parcels. Photo: EPA

Police stand guard after a blast occurred in the early morning. Photo: AFP

A damaged room in a residential building is seen after the explosions hit Liucheng. Photo: Reuters

Safety rules no guarantee of security as parcel bombs slip through delivery checks in China

A motorist surveys the blast scene in Liucheng county, Guangxi. Photo: Dickson Lee

An express facility in Weifang, Shandong province. Courier services have grown as internet shopping has boomed. Photo: Xinhua 

Six bitter disputes between Chinese authorities and public that ended in violence

A badly damaged building in Liucheng county following  Wednesday's series of bomb blasts, which killed seven people. Photo: SCMP Pictures

This screen grab from Weibo shows what appears to be a person catapulted out of a store during one of the explosions on Wednesday in China’s Guangxi province. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Chinese state television showed police escorting Feng Zhijun after his detention in November 2013. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Damaged motorbikes and debris lie on the ground after the explosion outside a primary school in Guilin, in China's Guangxi province in September 2013. Photo: AFP

Ji Zhongxing is taken to hospital after being injured by a bomb he was holding during a protest at Beijing Capital International Airport in September 2013. Photo: Xinhua

A firemen examines the burned out bus in which 47 people travelling during the evening rush hour died in Xiamen in June 2013. Photo: Xinhua

A booklet belonging to Zhao Dengyong, who died after being duped into carrying a bomb inside a rucksack which went off when he walked into a community centre in Yunnan province. Photo: Simon Song

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Horror as residents of a backwater county rocked by 17 parcel bombs in two hours on Wednesday wake to sound of a new explosion


Guesthouse workers in Liucheng county in Guangxi province knew something had gone very wrong the second they heard the bang. The explosion destroyed the ticket office of Dapu township's bus station shortly before 4pm on Wednesday.


A loud bang, then chaos: residents of Chinese town hit by string of parcel bombs recall horror ordeal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Horror as residents of a backwater county rocked by 17 parcel bombs in two hours on Wednesday wake to sound of a new explosion

Horror as residents of a backwater county rocked by 17 parcel bombs in two hours on Wednesday wake to sound of a new explosion