Fireworks

As promsied a few pictures of fireworks. But first I am including some pictures of James making dumplings (jiaozi). This is the part of the evening when I was grateful for something to do because I couldn't talk to these people very well and there was still a long time before we ate.

It took a lot of concentration for me to successfully make the dumplings so I stayed focused. The tray of dumplings are the ones I had made so far. They don't really have the correct shape, they're too long and flat - but they still taste good.

The fireworks pictures are very unsatisfying to me but they do show a little of the smoke and haze. What happens in China could never happen in the US. There are no safety regulations here so people light fireworks almost anywhere. All of the buildings are concrete so there is not as much worry about starting fires as there would be in the US. But I also think that people are just determined to shoot fireworks. It is part of their tradition. It would take a lot to change it. A very common sound right now is the loud explosion of a firework followed by a car alarm or car alarms going off. It is so common right now that I think car alarms are probably worthless right now.

It felt like we were in a war zone when we were riding on the streets looking at the fireworks. The superstition behind this tradition is that the loud noise scares away ghosts. I guess if you don't do it you will be bothered by them. There are approximately 11 million people in Tianjin, that's alot of ghosts and alot of fireworks! We must be used to them, we have been sleeping right through it all!