BEIJING, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Explosions at two illegal Chinese fireworks factories, ratcheting up output ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, killed nine people, state media said on Monday.

Six died at a factory in the northern province of Hebei on Sunday and three died in the southwestern province of Yunnan, the Shanghai Daily said.

Blasts at firework factories, many unlicensed and in densely settled areas, are common in China, where firecrackers are let off enthusiastically at weddings and especially at the start of the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, which this year begins on Feb. 7.

Hundreds of such accidents cause about 450 deaths a year.

(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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