I love watching a city at night. The glow of the buildings always has a somewhat eerie quality to me, knowing that they are functional by day and artistic by night. Hong Kong is no exception; it is possibly one of the greatest cities to view at night, with a bunch of buildings lit up, a harbor in the middle with views from both sides and a light show every night.
Throw the Chinese New Year into the mix and you also get a phenomenal fireworks show to add to the fun. The 22 minute show featured 8 “acts,” all set to music. Some of the shells were “special,” showing the character for the olympics or a horse, representing the 2008 olympics and the equestrian events that will be hosted in Hong Kong later this year. They also had a bunch of “8” shells, a lucky number in Chinese. Regardless of which shells they were, the skyline illuminated by the fireworks was an impressive sight.
I got out on the waterfront promenade at 4pm for an 8pm show, and it was already crowded. And the fact that it was the coldest New Year celebration in 12 years didn’t make it all that comfortable waiting the four hours for the show to start. But it was definitely worth it. I took 300+ pictures in the 22 minutes. These are some of the good ones, with more here.
This one is my new desktop wallpaper. Click on it (or any of the others) to get a larger version.
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Hi, I’m here via linaerys’ LJ.
Spectacular pictures. And an excellent way for me to actually find out how the fireworks look like, ’cause I actually didn’t watch ’em, though I live there.
Btw, red minibuses are actually really good if you need go somewhere that’s more than half an hour away, but you’re right, don’t try ’em unless you’re a local. 🙂
The hard part about getting a good seat for the fireworks is that you need to be there so early. They close the waterfront on the TST side at 6pm for the 8pm show. But if you can handle sitting there for a few hours – which is pretty easy with a book and some snacks – it is well worth it to get to see the show up close.