Published: 7:10pm, 30 Jan 2025Updated: 8:06pm, 30 Jan 2025
The night sky over Victoria Harbour lit up with explosions of colour as Hong Kong held its Lunar New Year fireworks celebrating the Year of the Snake on Thursday.
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About 400,000 spectators were earlier predicted to pack the harbourfront in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island to watch the 23-minute display held on the second day of the new year, with many arriving hours in advance to secure a good vantage point.
The show will use 23,888 firework shells launched from three barges. The first scene features the number eight, deemed lucky in Chinese culture, to symbolise a wish for prosperity for Hong Kong, followed by patterns forming red and silver peonies and red hearts.
The eighth scene will feature the heads of six giant pandas, which the city now cares for after the birth of twins and the arrival of a pair gifted by Beijing.
The finale, called “Dance of the Golden Snake”, will be accompanied by gongs and drums booming in tandem with the explosions.
The exteriors of HSBC’s headquarters in Central and the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai will also feature an LED light show complementing the display.
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A check by a Post reporter at around 4pm found extensive road closures and a heavy police presence in Tsim Sha Tsui, the most popular vantage point. Parts of Nathan Road were cordoned off, with officers using orange tape to direct traffic at the intersection with Salisbury Road, which was later closed completely to vehicles.
A few exits at Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR stations were closed, but the railway operator earlier said it would increase train frequency to meet passenger demand.