Residents living near the Lama Temple in Dongcheng district have said that the constant burning of offerings along the street is making their lives a misery and ruining the local environment.

Dongcheng urban management authorities said Tuesday that they have noticed the burning but there is little they can do as there are no regulations to expressly forbid it.

For over a decade, nearly half of the 800-meter-long Yonghegong Dajie has filled up with dozens of stores selling incense or providing fortune-telling services to those who come to the temple for blessings, according to Beijing Business Today on Tuesday.

With the approach of Tomb Sweeping Day Thursday, the stores are stocked full of fake paper money to be burnt as an offering to people's ancestors. 

A local resident, surnamed Zhang, said that they are concerned about the air quality in the neighborhood, as people burn paper and incense all year round in metal boxes along the street,  not just during the Qingming Festival. 

"The burning [of paper] in the red buckets has been going on for years, not just during this time," she said, noting that sometimes she could see and smell the smoke when walking on the street.

"Although the law enforcement officers do come to inspect, the burning continues after they leave," she said.

On Tuesday afternoon, many stores along Yonghegong Dajie had red iron buckets with lids on displayed outside. Nothing was being burnt at that time. 

An anonymous vendor surnamed He, who sells the red buckets and fake currency in a local store, said that they normally burn it in the evening to avoid law enforcement staff.

She said that it is Chinese calligraphy paper that is burnt.

"You can burn it in our feng shui box anytime you want," she said, noting that if people are really concerned about the air, they could buy the box and use it elsewhere.

She refused to comment when asked about the burning's potential to adversely affect the local environment.

Li Wen, a feng shui master, who has a store along the street, said the metal buckets are homemade, and can be used to burn fake money and blessing papers if you pay 660 yuan ($106).

"Different paper has different blessings on it," he said, noting that the blessings include things like wishes for a good marriage, good fortune for businessmen, and good blessings for the deceased.

One burning will take around half an hour and the price is 660 yuan.

"This includes the cost of paper and the right to use the red box," Li said.

Not all stores along the street charge such high prices. Some allow the burning of offerings for as little as 20 yuan.

Zhang Wenxia, media officer of the city administration and law enforcement bureau in Dongcheng district, said the burning had only come to their attention in March.

"We've told the vendors to stop burning paper beside the street before," he said, noting that the vendors would stop the burning after they are caught, but then will continue to do it after chengguan (urban management officers) leave.

"The burning is likely to cause fires in the windy weather and it might also affect the air quality in the region," Zhang said, noting that they could not fine them as there is no rule which applies particularly to this kind of burning.

"We could fine them only if they burn the paper on the ground instead of in the capped red boxes," he said.

He Xiaoxia, an environmentalist from NGO Green Beagle, said that any kind of outdoor burning will affect the environment regardless of what the material is.

However, banning the burning altogether might be unreasonable from a traditional perspective, she said.

"Since the burning is conducted in a comparatively small scale, it would not have a huge affect unless you are right beside it," He Xiaoxia said.

Beijing government announced new anti-pollution rules in January this year, which included a ban on outdoor burning and barbecues when the air is severely polluted. A ban on burning paper offerings in or near temples was not mentioned.