Hong Kong balloon artist breaks record for longest loong

HONG KONG — During Chinese New Year, a balloon loong (the Chinese pronunciation of dragon) measuring over 40 meters in length glided through the three-story atrium of a shopping mall in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.

On Jan 24, the artwork was confirmed to have broken the Guinness World Record for being the world's largest balloon loong.

The loong epitomizes resilience, dynamism and vitality in Chinese culture.

With glittering scales, the record-breaking loong, made up of 38,000 balloons, emanates a golden light, and exudes a sense of power and elegance.

With over a decade of experience in the craft, balloon artist Wilson Pang harbored a long-standing aspiration to craft a loong-shaped balloon.

"According to legend, the loong is in charge of rain. Only good weather can produce good crops, so the Chinese have been in awe of the dragon since ancient times," Pang says, adding that many idioms about loong are particularly good blessings.

As this is the Year of the Loong, Pang quickly finalized cooperation with the shopping mall and decided to make a gigantic balloon loong. He invited his counterparts, along with students from the City University of Hong Kong and a secondary school, to form a 60-member team.

"The loong is a totem of the Chinese people and has a special meaning, so the production should be rigorous," Pang says, adding that a lot of data was collected before he started producing the display.

Pang says that the most difficult part was the eyes, with more than 10 drafts being made for one eye alone before he was satisfied.