So, it’s a little late and most of us have begrudgingly returned to work, but 新年快乐 fellow laowai.
I captured my own thoughts, photos and videos of my 6th Chinese New Year’s Eve on my blog, and so won’t waste space with a reiteration here.
However, I wanted to share this great short video by Jonah M. Kessel, Paul Morris and Kit Gillet:
2011: The Year of the Rabbit from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.
To capture the spirit of the Spring Festival, the three of us hit the alleys, streets and roofs of Beijing to capture the pyrotechnique display put on by the Chinese people. The truly remarkable aspect of the events that take place on New Year’s Eve is that all of the fireworks you see in the video are bought and set off by regular Beijingers – a perfect visual representation of the overwhelming size of China’s population. This creates a unique organized display of chaos which lights up the sky and echoes through the streets of China.
Jonah gives a rundown on what went in to filming the video and what gear they used at his blog. Be sure to check it out.
Jonah M. Kessel is a Beijing-based freelance visual journalist and interactive art director specializing in photography, video, news and Web design.
Paul Morris is a Beijing-based freelance assistant producer and lighting cameraman.
Kit Gillet is a Beijing-based freelance journalist and documentary maker.
h/t Danwei.org (via HaoHaoReport)
That video is awesome! Mine wasn’t nearly as nice, but I did manage to get a couple of videos from our bedroom window of the amazing display of fireworks put on by the hotel across the street. The same hotel that eventually burned to a crisp the same night. (You probably saw the news of the Shenyang hotel fire?) If you watch the video, it’s no wonder there was a fire. We woke up to 175 firetrucks lining the street. Quite an experience for my first Spring Festival in China!
The fireworks & then
the fire.