Chinese New Year
When I was going to school at UT Knoxville, the biggest event of the year was a huge fireworks show called 'Boomsday' - the city spent millions of dollars on the display in order to draw tourists from all over the state and beyond; usually about a quarter of a million people would converge on the riverfront, beginning early in the afternoon. I worked as a waiter / bartender at a restaurant called Calhoun's, which boasted two large decks hanging out over the river, and was therefore a premier spot for viewing all the festivities.
While there were numerous other events during the day, the big event started about 9pm - a 20-minute long, choreographed to music fireworks show. Everything and everyone along the riverbanks came to a standstill when the show started, everyone mesmerized by the incredible pyromania launched from the bridges that span the Little Tennessee River.
At the time, I thought it was breathtaking - I grew up in small Ohio and Indiana towns, and none of the lame 4th of July shows from Greensburg to Akron came even close in comparision. Even the national fireworks display in DC didn't really top it, except for the fact of the impressive national monuments in the backdrop, instead of just Baptist Hospital and JFG coffee, across the river.
I really thought it was something else - until my first Chinese New Year in China.
I've lived in China for 3 years now, but had never been in-country for the new year; obviously that's holiday time for teachers, so trips to the States or down to Thailand to see my brother kept me abroad. This year, however, I'd visited the folks at Christmas and my brother is back in Virginia as well, so I found myself in Dalian for the festivities.
Even if you've been to Boomsday or something comparable, it's going to be hard for me to paint an accurate picture for you -- short of having combat experience, you've probably never experienced so much firepower.
First of all, forget about sprinklers and firecrackers -- weeks before the new year, every street corner is crowded with fireworks vendors, jam-packed with those 'dangerous' Class A varieties you'd have to have a license to buy at home. And they're so cheap it's almost ludicrous - I used to spend $50 to $100 back at home to put on a little 4th of July show of my own; but even then only impressed my little sisters. Here, even the poorest factory worker or farmer can get in on the show - and they do. ($100 dollars in China would probably buy enough C4 to make enough space for that new olympic-sized pool you wanted).
Next, even a grand display at home probably has 30 or 40 people handling the fireworks; imagine increasing that to - oh, say a couple of million. That's right - Dalian has a population of over 6 million people - even if only 10% got involved, over half a million people would be lighting up the night sky. A Chinese person firing up a bit for the new year is as common as an American watching Dick Clark.
Finally, unlike say Henley St. Bridge in Knoxville or the Washington Monument in DC, there is no 'center' to the show in a Chinese city - every street corner, park, parking lot, construction site, building top, etc. is a launch site.
It starts just before the sun goes down, around 5pm, but not with an odd one or two -- multiply the biggest show you've ever seen by at least 1000 in intensity. Although the sun is down, the streets are as bright as noonday. You can't talk to the person standing right next to you if you're outside. Rockets, explosions, what sounds like artillery shelling the hillsides, roman candles -- it's absolutely mind-boggling.
And it doesn't last for 20 minutes - it lasts for 8 hours! Standing on the rooftop, there's nothing but 360 degrees of explosions, far as the eye can see. Thousand of rooftops in every direction lit up by what must be millions of explosions. So much smoke is in the air that it seems the building below us must be on fire. An hour before midnight, it somehow becomes even more intense, so that we're yelling at the top of our lungs at each other. Charles, a Vietnam War vet, admits it's all a bit unnerving for him - flashbacks from a frightening time. This is how the TET offensive started, he yells.
We take to the street. Every car equipped with an alarm is sqwaking excitedly, red and amber lights flashing rhythmically. Smoke is as thick as fog on the ground, yet crowds of people are still laughing and firing away. The burnt red paper detritus of so many shells fills the street - every street - ankle deep, like autumn leaves lying in a country lane. Armies of street sweepers and dump trucks will spend the following week cleaning up.
You really just have to see it to believe it. 4th of July barbeques will never feel quite the same. | 
