Massive, illegal fireworks displays light up Hong Kong to mark start of Year of the Tiger
- Hong Kong’s traditional Lunar New Year fireworks display, normally held at the harbourfront, has been cancelled three years in a row
- The unsanctioned displays have divided residents, with some cheering the pyrotechnics, and others grumbling about startled babies and frightened dogs
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Illegal fireworks launched during Lunar New Year in Hong Kong
Massive, illegal fireworks displays, while not quite as impressive as the annual, government-organised ones formerly held over Victoria Harbour, have lit up the sky across Hong Kong on recent nights to celebrate the start of the Year of the Tiger.
Since Monday night, the pyrotechnics have popped up in Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Sha Tin, Sham Tseng, Ma Wan, Kwai Tsing, Tsz Wan Shan, Yau Ma Tei, Yau Tong, Kowloon Tong and Hung Hom, according to video clips obtained by the Post.
On Thursday night, a fireworks display went off in densely populated Hung Hom for about 1½ minutes, with residents able to view it through gaps between residential towers, footage showed.
In Ho Man Tin, a couple of clips taken by local resident Leung Kin-fung, the first associate concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, showed a series of huge, colourful explosions going off against the backdrop of local landmark Lion Rock.
Leung said he had watched the display with surprise from the window of his home two nights in a row.
“I am impressed with how they shipped them to Hong Kong,” he said on Wednesday night. “I heard hoorays and cheers from quite a group of people after the fireworks.”
