Going totally crackers

When Zhang Yimou conceived the opening gala for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he intended that fireworks would show off one of the "four great inventions of ancient China". His plan was sidetracked, however, because those supervising his work did not want the world to focus its attention on gunpowder, which would presumably lead to unwanted associations, such as cannonballs.

Even so, the most dazzling fireworks show I have ever seen - and I'm sure many would concur - was the Zhang-directed opening ceremony. It was not only spectacular, but also artistic. Designed by Cai Guoqiang, it did not just catapult the event to a crescendo, as is its usual function, but acted more as an audio-visual orchestra, or at least its percussion section, giving the show its rhythm and vitality. The giant footprints, the smiley faces, the waterfalls - all the simulations of concrete objects were juxtaposed with patterns and forms that pleased and heightened the senses.

Barely one month passed before I started to witness the ramifications of this "greatest show on earth". I was in Hohhot attending a trade fair, and on its eve a televised gala was held in a stadium. It, too, was punctuated with pyrotechnics - on a smaller scale but no less fancy. I was aghast: How could a local event be so spendthrift as to imitate the Olympics celebration? How much would that have cost taxpayers? (Such events are usually State-sponsored.)

I could only imagine all the wannabes across China who, though deficient in originality, were quick to learn from the master and festooned their official or business functions with Olympic-styled firework spectacles.

That's why I welcomed the Lunar New Year, because the fireworks would be spontaneous instead of organized, and paid for by individuals instead of government organizations. Guess what? I got more than I hoped for.

This was the first time I had spent a Spring Festival in Beijing, so I could not compare it with 2008. Some of my colleagues told me last year's was even more excessive. Still, I could not detect any sign of moderation.

The original purpose of fireworks was to frighten away evil spirits that were supposed to show up at the end of the year. Who are these spirits? I don't know. If they include the apparition of economic recession, it was nowhere in sight.

I did not know the fifth day of the Lunar New Year has a special meaning. Fireworks on that day are supposed to bring good fortune. So, anyone who owns a business hits the streets and sets off strings of crackers. But I didn't know there were so many businesses in the community where I reside. I could count just a handful of restaurants, but obviously the residential compound houses an amazing number of small offices. The length and intensity of the fireworks on that night exceeded the one on New Year's Eve and kept my baby daughter from sleeping.