HK sees in 2024 with huge crowds, magical fireworks
More than 479,000 people on Sunday night gathered on both sides of Victoria Harbour to ring in 2024, and enjoy the New Year's Eve musical and pyrotechnics extravaganza.  The Tourism Board said it was the largest display ever - it lasted 12 minutes - and its theme was 'New Year, New Legend,' depicting the changing seasons and the beauty of nature. Chief Executive John Lee was at the countdown event to savour the festive atmosphere. Huge crowds had already gathered along the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday afternoon. One woman said she and her group of photography friends had arrived at around 10 am. "Because this is a large-scale display, we wanted to get a good spot to take photos," she said. A tourist from Guangzhou said that this was her first post-pandemic trip to Hong Kong, and she specifically wanted to see the fireworks. "I've seen the fireworks in Guangzhou many times, and they're not very fresh anymore. This time, I came to Hong Kong specifically to see the fireworks and participate in the countdown. There are also fewer countdown activities in Guangzhou," she said. A tourist from Guizhou said he had learned about the fireworks on social media and had come to Hong Kong just to see them. Meanwhile, several tourist spots on the mainland, including Hunan, Jiangxi, and Anhui, had cancelled their New Year's Eve fireworks displays due to severe air pollution and bad weather.