welcoming in the Year of the Tiger

Saturday night was new year's eve in the Lunar calender. We had been told what to expect (a barage of non-stop fireworks) but nothing prepared us for the reality of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

It started as the sun was going down. As we walked home along our local streets, young children were setting off major fireworks in the streets and on the sidewalks. Yes, that's right. Children as young as the age of maybe 6 (!!) were personally wielding cigarette lighters and rolls of firecrackers.

As the night continued the fireworks continued all around our apartment building (and even from within our courtyard). What we couldn't see, we could hear or watch reflected in the buildings around us.

And as midnight fell, the city exploded (literally!!). The closest i can come to describe it is that it reminded me of the videos that the war correspondents used to air during the first Gulf War. Explosions from every direction, with smoke filling the air and reflecting the light and sound of the thousands of people setting of fireworks.

We were speechless! We ran between the living room terrace on what side of our building and the dining room windows on the other...didn't want to miss anything. We couldn't even hear each other speak, but we put together this video just to give you an idea. Without being here and experiencing it for yourselves, we figured that no one would ever believe us without proof.

Coming from the US and Europe, a 'show spectacular' on these proportions could only be organised by the city. What made this all the more shocking for us was that there was nothing 'organised' about it. These were all private families setting off their own (commercial grade) fireworks in the streets. We reckon that the local eye hospital must be very busy....

Wishing you and your families good fortune for the new year!