Chinese National Day ’08

Everyone in Hong Kong had the day off yesterday to celebrate the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949. I wanted to see if the celebration here resembled the 4th of July back in the U.S. I wasn’t far off. With the help of my cousin, I was able to get tickets to watch the fireworks display on Victoria Harbor from her office building.

Her building is the tallest in Hong Kong. It’s called the International Finance Centre 2 (IFC2) and should look familiar if you’ve seen Batman:The Dark Knight. This is the same building Bruce Wayne leaps off of to abduct Lau.

Anyhow, this is the view we got to watch the fireworks from. Victoria Harbor separates Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. This is the view of Hong Kong Island.

Shot of Victoria Harbor before the fireworks with Kowloon on the left and Hong Kong Island on the right. Can you pick out the three boats in the water about to light them off?

How about now?

It was difficult to get images of the fireworks at their peak. Had to use the long shutter, so it was all about timing.

Sadly, this was the best one I could get from the entire night.

Because after that, the smoke got so was heavy it covered all the lights. I could barely make out the harbor later on because it was so dense. Feel sorry for those who had to pay money for “better” seats for the show.

The aftermath going home in the MTR. I never felt this crowded since Takeshita Street in Harajuku.

All in all I had a wonderful time. Thanks to Vivian & Max for planning out the night!