If you were with me on Thursday night Feb. 17 you would have no doubts why this blog has the topic it has. On that night, starting at 6:00 and lasting a thunderous 10 minutes the potholed surface of SPA's incomplete sports field was the setting for our owner's pyrotechnic salute to the Lantern Festival. The air boomed and the night sky was illuminated by what would be thousands of dollars worth of fireworks in the U.S. I tried to insert a sample in a video at the end of the blog, but could only link to it. As a palliative here's a still shot showing the front our our comprehensive building with fireworks over the "field" behind.
This was the most up close and personal Jackie and I have been to Chinese fireworks. We were literally right under their glittering canopy. In case you might worry that this was a dangerous perspective I want to assure you that extensive safety precautions were in effect. Several orange traffic cones were lined up at the top of the steps leading to the field, an expansive 20 yards away from the nearest boxes of fireworks waiting for ignition. This line demarcated the closest point that the young children attending our third Winter Camp could approach. They were minors after all, and we were in loco parentis. And just like a couple of loco parents we crossed the traffic cone line to get a better view. Before you jump to the conclusion that we were being irresponsible, you should know that the full battery of our firefighting materiel was within easy reach of our location—we stood next to the three fire extinguishers that had been carried out to the field. Also, the school's employees who were prepared and equipped to deal with any explosive emergency—four of the maintenance guys with shovels at the ready—were just a few feet away. How could we be any safer?
So, as the Chinese men took turns puffing on a cigarette and dashing to press it against the fuses sticking out of the fireworks boxes, we watched and “ohhhed” and “ahhhed”. I must be getting old because the grand finale's percussion of thousands of firecrackers going off in rapid fire caused me to cover my ears with my hands. And then it was over, for us. The rest of the neighborhood stayed at it for hours. There were even fireworks the next day, but none of them approached the intensity of that night.
Apparently fireworks usher the New Year celebration in and out. The party began on Feb. 2nd when there was the new moon that inaugurated the festival (also called Spring Festival). Thursday's wrap-up was marked by the first full moon of the new year. There are regulations on where and when fireworks can be set off, but as far as I can tell the regulations aren't much enforced. Certainly during the New Year time fireworks are everywhere. A Chinese staffer at school said that technically they're illegal at other times of the year, but people set them off for weddings, birthdays, to mark the opening of a new business, and for other significant events. We've been hearing fireworks regularly since we arrived in Shenyang. One night we watched and marveled at a great show launched to the north of us and visible from our apartment window. I took some pictures of that one.
(Picture to come. I have to dig up up off of my external hard drive.)
In China the fireworks are factory made. (Not having been to a Chinese fireworks factory, I can't comment on the nature of them, but the packaging of the fireworks suggests that the factories are apparently mainstream businesses.) Then the goods get sold at roadside stands much like the ones I'm familiar with from the Suquamish Indian reservation near Bainbridge. The stands went up a week or ten days before New Year's Eve. They got steady business from people driving, walking, and bicycling up. Once the stands opened there was a noticeable increase in extemporaneous fireworks shows. I guess people had to sample their wares in order to decide which items were most suited to their tastes.
(note the white painted tree)
Jackie and I were not here for the actual New Year's display. We left for the U.S. Before that. We did hear from Annie Nord though that the fireworks in Shenyang caused the destruction of a hotel. This news was confirmed by many sources and the photos below are from that event. Some of our colleagues here at SPA were in town on the 2nd and couldn't see the burning hotel because the smoke from the constant and continual discharge of fireworks around them obscured everything beyond the immediate foreground. News reports from other Chinese cities from this year and past indicate that loss of property and life is regular result of New Year's conflagrations.
(Sorry, I know I promised video of our fireworks. I couldn't get a copy to imbed here. Instead I've included a link to our school's website where you can see the video.)
I'll close with a couple of scenes from the day after. As with any party, this one left the typical aftermath for time and the clean-up crew to deal with.
