At close range

Tonight is the lantern festival, the 15th day of the New Lunar Year and the first full moon of the New Year. The Chinese gather with their families for a meal, to put out lanterns and set off an amazing amount of fireworks. We went down to Tai Kang Lu for a walk around, dinner and in hopes of seeing the fullest moon for the past 53 some years, by 10%. We were only able to catch glimpses of the moon during the taxi ride. Throughout dinner there was a constant stream of fireworks surrounding us. All seemingly rather low and close to buildings. On the way home on Yan’an elevated road we could see displays throughout of the city.
From inside my flat I would easily mistake the sounds as an air raid. In southern China unfortunately it was the case in a village where 21 people died from firework blasts at a family party. Many people were hospitalized after a group of people set off fireworks in the center.
It is still baffling to me to see adults about 5 meters away with their children setting off a box of fireworks under power lines. People consistently do this along each street, so much so that the silence can be more deafening than the booms. With the light up of the sky with fireworks the smoke has covered the brightness of the first full moon.