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All week I had been talking to my coworkers about what I should do for New Years Eve. Some of them were going out to a bar or club. Most were just going to stay home. This wasn't Chinese New Year. I thought to myself, how boring. Yang and I talked about it later and he thought it would be a good idea if we went to Huangpu River. Apparently they hold a fireworks display every year. Sounded good to me. I didn't have to work the next day since the school gave everyone January 1st off.
After I got off work on New Years Eve, I went home to warm up for a while before the two of us had to go back out into the below freezing temperatures. I didn't want to leave too early and then just have to stand there waiting for the fireworks but we had to leave before 10:30pm to catch the last subway. We weren't exactly sure about how we were getting home, but I didn't want to let anything stop me from having a memorable first New Years in Shanghai! Not even my runny nose.
Getting off the subway at Lujiazui, we made our way to a viewing area where people already lined the entire length of the good standing sections along the river. The crowd wasn't as big as I expected though. Again, it wasn't Chinese New Year. We waited a grand total of about 30 minutes before a voice came over the loud speaker across the river to announce something, and then a choir started singing. That's why there wasn't a very big crowd. They were all on the other side of the river where all the action was. Oh well, it wouldn't matter once the fireworks went off. After the choir finished, the speaker started talking again some of which included the fact that Yao Ming (famous for playing in the NBA) as well as other notable people were present at the celebration. The crowd "ooo'd" and "ahh'd" at Yao's name. At about ten minutes til midnight, they started a 4D show using two of the buildings across the river. It was absolutely amazing! I had never seen anything like it! Clicking on the image above will take you to both the pictures from that night as well as a video of the 4D show. It was too much to put into words here. After the show, they began the fireworks which they shot off the ships floating in the river. It was one of the biggest fireworks displays I had ever seen. Definitely one for the record books. I took my own video of the 4D show and fireworks so don't forget to check that out too. I apologize in advance for the shaking as it was pretty cold that night. It was definitely a New Years I won't soon forget.
Next up: Chinese New Year (Feb. 9-15). I can't wait to be a part of my first Chinese New Year!
After I got off work on New Years Eve, I went home to warm up for a while before the two of us had to go back out into the below freezing temperatures. I didn't want to leave too early and then just have to stand there waiting for the fireworks but we had to leave before 10:30pm to catch the last subway. We weren't exactly sure about how we were getting home, but I didn't want to let anything stop me from having a memorable first New Years in Shanghai! Not even my runny nose.
Getting off the subway at Lujiazui, we made our way to a viewing area where people already lined the entire length of the good standing sections along the river. The crowd wasn't as big as I expected though. Again, it wasn't Chinese New Year. We waited a grand total of about 30 minutes before a voice came over the loud speaker across the river to announce something, and then a choir started singing. That's why there wasn't a very big crowd. They were all on the other side of the river where all the action was. Oh well, it wouldn't matter once the fireworks went off. After the choir finished, the speaker started talking again some of which included the fact that Yao Ming (famous for playing in the NBA) as well as other notable people were present at the celebration. The crowd "ooo'd" and "ahh'd" at Yao's name. At about ten minutes til midnight, they started a 4D show using two of the buildings across the river. It was absolutely amazing! I had never seen anything like it! Clicking on the image above will take you to both the pictures from that night as well as a video of the 4D show. It was too much to put into words here. After the show, they began the fireworks which they shot off the ships floating in the river. It was one of the biggest fireworks displays I had ever seen. Definitely one for the record books. I took my own video of the 4D show and fireworks so don't forget to check that out too. I apologize in advance for the shaking as it was pretty cold that night. It was definitely a New Years I won't soon forget.
Next up: Chinese New Year (Feb. 9-15). I can't wait to be a part of my first Chinese New Year!