With the Lunar New Year celebrations right around the corner, Hong Kong’s annual fireworks display promises to be a modest affair, with just, oh, around 23,888 separate shells fired over the span of 23 minutes.
For those of you not great at math, that’s an average of more than 1,038 explosions — per minute.
Scheduled to begin at 8pm, the Feb. 6 pyrotechnic extravaganza will be arranged into eight “scenes,” each with its own theme, according to a government press release.
The first scene will feature explosions shaped like the auspicious number “8,” with the second scene paying tribute to everybody’s favorite pig, the cartoon character McDull (sorry, wild boars, you’re our favorite pigs), with blasts shaped like pig snouts to usher in the Year of the Pig. McDull’s theme song will be played in a synchronized broadcast on FM 97.6 to 98.9.
The fourth scene will feature strobes and “waterfall-like effects,” the release continues, in order to “create a romantic ambience, sending wishes to all lovers for the Valentine’s Day that follows the Lunar New Year.” Cue the Barry White, Hongkongers. The local government wants you to get it on.
The government also wants you to get patriotic, with the final scene involving the “firing of 10 seven-inch shells featuring brocade crowns and purple pistils simultaneously in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.”
No word on whether “disrespecting” the brocade crowns and purple pistils could land you in jail.
