Fireworks Recreation

  Dalian, China
Friday, September 14, 2007

15 September 2007

Thursday Night Fireworks 5

The Chinese are serious about fireworks. Apparently, an occasion is not special without them. The Beer Festival included fireworks. The Spring Garden festival had them. Large weddings have them, and they are not lightweight.

Neighborhood Wedding Preparations 10

There were two 15 mintue displays on my block this week. The locals said they were for weddings. For such an event, the bigger restaurants simply clear the parking lot and stake out the launch area, which often includes the street right of way out to the traffic line. It takes 3-4 days for setup of these wedding events. There are always attendants on duty during the setup, usually guys with matching slacks, shirts and ties who just watch over things and answer questions. These are the same guys who manage parking when the fireworks are not on line.

With the obvious preparations, by the time the event happens, the neighborhood surely knows what the deal is, and I'm sure the attendants let the locals know what to expect. Still, it seems chaotic, no big announcments or advertising. They start the ceremony with a minute or 2 of firecrackers, a variety of sizes, from pencil thin to cigar size, then a round of cannon blasts. The traffic stops, of course, because the street is quickly filled with people. Then they launch the big guns.

Neighborhood Wedding Preparations 7

There don't seem to be any police officials involved, just the attendants with walkie-talkies. It looked like all the cops in my neighborhood police station stepped outside and watched the whole thing, just like all the other pedestrians. The larger of these two local displays included a stage set with a steel frame galley for the lighting set, stage and sound equipment. The stage was probably 40x60'. It included 4 programmed searchlights that started up a couple of days before.

Neighborhood Wedding Preparations 2

The smaller event decorated the building a few days before, including a 100 foot long red carpet for the ceremony.

Then there are the public events. Dalian has some of the biggest public squares in China, which they use well for these displays. Last week, at the close of the World Economic Summit, Dalian put on what they described as the largest fireworks event in their history.

World Economic Summit 070909 Closing Event

The photo here shows Xinghai Square during the day. It's a huge plaza, probably 1/2 mile from end to end. The day of the fireworks, cannons lined the whole perimenter, at least a mile's worth of launchers. And it was all secured with guards every 100 feet or so. Manpower is a great thing. There's a phone video of these fireworks posted at:
http://english.runsky.com/en/2007-09/09/content_1027167.htm, courtesy of the Dalian news, which has a very good English langauge edition on the web http://www.runsky.com/en/index.htm.

Closing Event World Economic Summit 070909 C

Spectacular fireworks gala at Xinghai Bay
(DALIANNEWS)- The World Economic Forum's Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions was concluded successfully with a spectacular fireworks gala at Xinghai Square, Dalian, on the night of September 8, 2007.

Also, a story about last Spring's fireworks posted at:
http://english.runsky.com/en/2006-02/05/content_735763.htm