Residents at a housing estate in Tsz Wan Shan were roused awake by a fireworks display in a neighboring playground early Tuesday morning.
Videos posted to a community Facebook group around 2am showed the colorful pyrotechnics lighting up the night sky, just above the neighborhood secondary school.
Some complained that they had been woken up by the thunderous explosions, which was so loud it was said to have been heard blocks away.
Others were more amused, remarking that the display—rather extravagant for a homegrown affair—seemed expensive and that they were lucky enough to have a front-row seat.
“It’s nicer than in Victoria Harbor,” one Facebook user said.
In Hong Kong, fireworks are classified under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance, and illegal discharge of fireworks is punishable by a maximum penalty of HK$25,000 (US$3,225) and six months in jail.
Police were called to the playground around 2:20am, where they found four boxes of suspected manufactured fireworks. No arrests have been made as of Wednesday afternoon.
This year’s New Year’s Day and Chinese New Year fireworks displays have been canceled due to COVID-19. The government also scrapped both shows in 2020, citing security concerns amid the protests—ongoing at the time—as reason not to hold the annual festivities.
Another Facebook user in the group joked: “It would be a treat if the fireworks were set off on the eve of Chinese New Year, to mark the start of the new year.”
