Fireworks- In more ways than one

So, I am going to fast-foward from my trip to Bali and tell you what's been going on this week before I forget.

Monday was the end of China's Spring Festival. The holiday is similar to Christmas except it goes on for 2 weeks. To mark the last day, everyone in China lets off fireworks - and I mean everyone. They start at 8 a.m. and last until the big finale at midnight.

I am not talking about sparklers and Black Cats. These are industrial, show-stopping, non-stop explosives. There really is no point in my trying to even write and explain this phenomenon because words simply can't do it justice.

You have to see it for yourself. This is the video I shot outside my bathroom window. Take a look at what you missed by clicking here.

As you can see, people are letting off fireworks in-between parked and moving cars, feet away from apartment buildings, dry grass and trees, as well as people walking on the sidewalks. Unbelievable.

According to the The NY Times: "Gunpowder was invented in China and more than four-fifths of the world’s fireworks are produced here. Weddings, funerals and holidays are all commemorated with deafening booms, flashes of light and billowing clouds of black smoke. To many Chinese, celebrating the Lunar Festival without fireworks is akin to Americans celebrating Christmas without Christmas trees."

As I said in the video, it sounded and looked like I lived in a war zone.
It came as no surprise then when this happened:

(credit to: National Geographic)

(credit to: NY Times)

(credit to: BJ Review)

That's right. The damn Chinese burned down an entire skyscraper with their fireworks. I knew as soon as I saw the video late that night, that I would be in for a busy Tuesday at work.

CCTV is the government-owned and run TV network. Therefore, it was very embarrassing to have one of their brand new, architecturally progressive, incredibly expensive buildings go up in flames in the middle of downtown Beijing during the end of what is supposed to be the best time of year in China.

How would the government deal with this embarrassment? Because of where I work and what I do, I can't go in to details. I will, however, let you surmise your own opinion after reading the following articles.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5709439.ece

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-beijing-fire11-2009feb11,0,6561766.story

Needless to say, it has been a very interesting week.