It was a pleasant surprise to find out, when the National Day fireworks began down at the harbour the other day, that we could see a surprising amount over the tops of the buildings from our apartment window.
This scrappy iPhone photo cannot in any way do it justice. Not only was it hard to capture the moment with the loooong camera delay on a phone, but the phone seemed to struggle to capture the contrasts between the glare of the Tsim Sha Tsui at street level (I'd never noticed it was that bright!), the darkness of the night, and the stunning fireworks.
What made it more amusing was all the televisions I could see tuned to the fireworks in the apartments across the street. Truly, even with much of the view cut off, they still seemed more spectacular seen through my own retina than on the television screens I could see.
It was an impressive fireworks display, as these things go, and a reminder of how much money is still floating around in Hong Kong despite the worldwide recession. It went for twenty-five minutes, which I'd guess results in a hefty price tag. If you want to see some better photos, and read the work of someone who has done some background research, click here.
As for me, I merely reflected on how fortuitous it seems that red has always been an auspicious colour in China, and is also the colour of the International Labour movement, and hence the colour of the flag of the PRC. Nothing like starting off with the public relations battle already won. I don't feel I have learnt enough yet about China's history, ancient and modern, to make more of a comment than that right now. I have lots of opinions, but I am sure there are wiser heads out there to listen to, such as this guy, whom M and I have enjoyed reading.
Instead I will leave you with some appropriate music...
No comments:
Post a Comment