The second evening of Chinese New Year sees the fireworks exploding over Victoria Harbour. Interestingly, fireworks are banned in HK so this is the only display over the New Year period (aside from the usual Disneyland ones). Storeowners are not even allowed to set off the crackers in front of their shops which I have seen them do in Sydney where fireworks area also banned!

With memories of Sydney New Year’s Eve festivities on our mind, it was going to be very difficult for HK to compete. A backdrop of highrises is not as artistic or flashy as a backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I particularly love the fireworks that are shot off the Bridge and then cascaded over the side.

The night itself was quite drizzly which is said to be auspicious for this occasion. I love the way that something that could be construed as a negative is seen in a positive light! There was also a slight cool breeze which did little to blow away the firework smoke but was enough to make me shiver on occasion.

We were fortunate enough to be invited on a harbour cruise. The ferry left Discovery Bay and headed toward the Harbour as we ate dinner. Jostling boats of all shapes and sizes with all manner of decorations greeted us as we neared the restricted zone. It looked stunning with all the bright colours.

Most of us stood quite close together on the top desk to watch the fireworks remaining a bit undercover so didn’t really get that wet. The smoke was so thick that at one stage, we were unable to see the top of some of the buildings.

The fireworks themselves went for about 30 minutes with red and gold being the predominant colours (probably because they are lucky). We had been told to keep our eyes out for the pig as a firework but this turned out to be a symbol of a pig rather than a picture. The symbol resembled a hot-cross bun to me! The pinks and purples were quite spectacular and we saw some styles that we hadn’t seen previously. There were plenty of ooohs and aahhhs all around.

The following day, we saw the Dragon Dance at the Discovery Bay Plaza. The tradition has the dragon / lion being woken up (having its eyes painted) and then being led by guides to the beat of drummers around an area culminating in it jumping high in the air to eat a lettuce. If you are hit by a piece of lettuce when it spits it out, you will have a great year! The one that we saw also ate coconut -not sure about the significance.