Judy is back at the grind of school today. She’s out of the house, and gets to school really smoothly. We had heard that Beijing emptied out for the New Year’s Holiday. I couldn’t believe it would be so obvious, but they were right. There’s no traffic, anywhere! Even the 3rd Ring Road. is always stop and go, but there are very few cars traveling today. Most of the intersections that have been jammed in the past are almost ghost-like. It’s really weird.
Everyone must be at home firing off fireworks. At anytime of the day and early evening, explosions can be heard. As I walk to the Marriott, there are remnants of fireworks everywhere. I’m not sure who’s in charge of clean-up, but it’s going to be a big job.
At home in the evening, the fireworks frequency is much lower. At one point, though, a star shell starts going off right outside our window. We could see and hear debris hitting the glass. I posted some pictures below showing the fireworks stand just outside our apartment complex. One of the pictures shows the different firecracker packages. There were different sizes of “wheels”. The largest sold for 300rmb (about $54). You see people everywhere rolling those out, and setting them off. There is also a picture of a discarded canister. These are how they sell the star shells. It’s all self-contained with one fuse. They set those things on the ground, light them, and walk away.
Check out the fire extinguishers on the sidewalk!
Stacks and wheels of firecrackers!
A discarded star shell canister. Check out how many tubes there are. I haven’t seen anything like this in Texas or New Mexico.
I’ve taken some video of a “fireworks evening” in our apartment. As soon as I decide on the best way to post it where others can access it, I’ll let you know.