A city in southern China has banned any new restaurants from making one of the region 's most popular dishes in a bid to control its rising air pollution problem . Firewood chicken has become a popular delicacy in Kunming , regional capital of Yunnan Province , with dozens of restaurants springing up in the last few months to offer the dish . Local officials have decided to stop licensing new firewood chicken restaurants and ordered existing premises to burn a more environmentally friendly fuel , according to the People 's Daily Online . Officials in China have banned restaurants from making firewood chicken because they believe burning lots of firewood to create the popular dish releases too many pollutants into the already smog-filled air in cities . To create the dish , large quantities of firewood are burned every day to cook chicken for around 40 minutes . A 2.5kg chicken takes between 1.5 to 2.5kg of firewood to cook . It is estimated that for a restaurant with a capacity of around 30 diners around 550kg of firewood would be burned during busy periods , and this would have a huge impact on air quality . A spokesman for Xishan District Environmental Protection Bureau said 'No new applications for firewood chicken restaurants are being accepted and this has been the case for almost a year already . 'Many entrepreneurs have recently tried to open firewood chicken restaurants but we have rejected them all . ' He added that restaurants which had opened in the last year and were awaiting approval were operating illegally . Air pollution has long been a problem in China , where cities are often overcome with thick smog . Existing restaurants will now be required to use more environmentally friendly fuels , such as charcoal . China 's 'Air Pollution Prevention Law ' stipulates that : coal , pulverized coal , combustible waste , direct burning of biomass fuels ( trees , straw , sawdust , rice husk etc ) are all high-polluting fuels . The cooking process of firewood chicken comes under the new restrictions . Some restaurants in Kunming have already opted for more environmentally friendly options , with one restaurant in Guannan Road using the greener charcoal option . SouthAsia Garden Firewood Chicken Restaurant simply uses gas and serves the dish in earth pots to give it an authentic taste . China has for years been hit by heavy air pollution , caused by enormous use of coal to generate electricity to power a booming economy - the world 's second largest - and more vehicles on the roads . Air pollution is increasingly acute in Chinese cities , including in Wuhan in central China 's Hubei province . It has become a major source of popular discontent among Chinese citizens , leading the government to declare a 'war on pollution ' and vow to reduce the proportion of energy derived from fossil fuels . Earlier this month Under the Dome , a film about the country 's notorious smog , went viral with more than 155 million views in just one day .
The city of Kunming has stopped granting licenses to new restaurants serving ‘ firewood chicken ’ The popular dish involves burning lots of wood , releasing harmful gasses . Officials have instructed existing premises to use different fuel for the dish . The ban is understood as local government ’ s attempt to improve air quality .