Hong Kong Welcomes the Year of the Dragon with a Bang

Hong Kong welcomed the Year of the Dragon with a dramatic firework display over Victoria Harbor on Tuesday, the second day of the lunar calendar.

As crowds gathered on either side of the water to watch the annual display, the sky was illuminated by almost 40-thousand rockets in a 23-minute extravaganza made up of eight scenes.

Glittering fireworks of different colors created numbers, smiling faces and chrysanthemums – the flower which symbolizes the energy of the people of Hong Kong.

One of the scenes, titled "The Dragon in Flight," featured fireworks flying back and forth over the water like the movement of a dragon, symbolizing cultural and friendship exchange between the East and the West.

The climax of the display was "Lung-lung Sound the Firecrackers" section, in which rockets of all colors flew continuously for 50 seconds to wish the former British territory all the best in the coming year.