Okay, I click-baited you with that title. It wasn’t a lousy light show at all, it was quite spectacular but “…and all I got was this spectacular light show” isn’t how the t-shirt goes, so there you have it.
So yeah, July 1st was the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. Centennials tend to be a big celebration in most places and I’m sure you can imagine here it was no different. Red lanterns hung on trees, the 100th anniversary logo plastered on buildings and signs all over, and students doing writing or singing and dancing competitions to prove they love their country the most.
Xiamen city did more than just add some banners and logos though, they set up amazing light shows throughout the city, the most spectacular of which was at the waterfront with dozens of skyscrapers projecting lights, music and video in unison across the water. Luckily there is a little spit of land directly across from the edge of the city called Gulangyu, also called Piano Island, so Azhi and I went there to get the best seats in the house.
The show started at eight in the evening, and they had five presentations every half hour. I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that despite making the hour and a half trip to the island specifically to see the “once in a hundred years” light show, we missed the first two due to food. But can you blame me?! Look at the picture below. So worth it.
With full bellies we went out to see the lights. We saw the next two shows on land and the last one as we were taking the ferry back to the city. A picture says a thousand words and Azhi’s photos are better than anything I could ever write, so I’ll let them do the talking:
I obviously didn’t get misty-eyed or feel patriot about any of it, but the visual effect was stunning. I haven’t done a lot of traveling in the past year and a half (for obvious reasons) so it’s nice when the city I live in does something a little special that makes the same old places a bit more unique.
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