A Chinese love affair

The Chinese love their fireworks. LOVE. Here fireworks reach a whole new level of noisy obnoxiousness. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I grew up in a state where fireworks were legal. I'm pretty sure though, that all self-respecting Chinese would scoff at my annual "look I'm the Statue of Liberty" sparkler routine. Sparklers were the best! And screeching yellow jackets, and kamikaze pinwheels that would fly off their mounts or be nailed to a tree (maybe Dad was Chinese in a prior life?).

Fireworks in China are a must for every wedding, funeral, and holiday and can be heard 24/7/365. They seem more intrigued by the loud heart-stopping booms (that are WAY louder than anything we ever had in Oregon!) than the visual aspect of it, as at-home displays seem to happen in the middle of the day more often than not. When we first moved here, we'd scurry out to the porch at night to watch the massive displays as soon as we'd hear the first few booms.  Then on National Day I was actually trapped in our apartment for two hours while our downstairs neighbors set off the loudest fireworks ever, right outside the only door to our building. Let's just say the bloom is off the rose.

Fortunately, here in Jiangyin, they've figured out how to turn the dial to 11. There are 3 or 4 of these trucks that drive around down, deafening the local population. On a normal day they are used for military recruitment. But you can also hire them for any occasion or parade. More than once I've had the misfortune of being on the sidewalk while these drive by. A grandpa actually laughed at me as I plugged my ears and cringed the other day. I still want to be able to hear when I'm his age, thank you very much!