China National Day

Oct 1, 2007
China National Day 58

This is the day China celebrates becoming a nation. It’s a bit like the 4th of July without the picnics. The main thing about this day is that most people don’t work & there are good fireworks.

I went last year, it was my first experience with fireworks in Hong Kong & I’ve gone to every fireworks since at different locations. I have not been disappointed yet. This time I went by myself & didn’t worry about trying to go really early to get a good spot. Last year I went with a Cadmus friend, Ashley & we stood for probably 2 hours with little old Chinese ladies pushing us around. I just got there 30 minutes early this time & it was fine. No little old ladies near me, just families with little kids.

I love the fireworks themselves, but what I like more is the reaction of the crowd. The Chinese are very vocal and show their pleasure with loud gasps and oohs & ahhs. When the first set of explosives went off the entire crowd of 10s of thousand of people let out a collective gasp of pleasure. It just makes you feel like there is still some wonder in the world & simple pleasures (not that these fireworks are simple or cheap).

The show lasted about 25 minutes. There are 3 barges in the harbor where the display is set off from. There is music, but it’s hard to hear & not really necessary. The highlight for me and the crowd, as indicated by a very loud squeal of pleasure followed by clapping & cheering, was a huge starburst of of whitish/yellow that turned into little red lanterns that floated away over the water & lasted a very long time before they fell into the water. I’ve never seen anything like it. Of course there was the waterfall that looks & sounds like a waterfall. There were shaped fireworks: hearts, smiley faces, 2008 (for the Olympics, each number coming up in succession), 10 (for the tenth anniversary of HK being turned over to China). Other than that there wasn’t anything memorable, but just plain old wonderful, huge, over-the-top fireworks.

It was funny to listen to the sudden cry of young children that started as soon as the first firework exploded. Several parents had to take their little ones away. There was a little boy next to me who must have been about 1 year old. He was strapped to his mom’s chest looking out. He was the happiest kid I’ve see. He just watched in amazement & when everyone cheered, he squealed & clapped his hands.

It was a good evening!