Fireworks Display in HK and Rabbit Exhibition in Macao Celebrate Lunar New Year 　　*A splendid fireworks display lighted up the sky of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (SAR) on the night of February 17, celebrating the Spring Festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year, which is the most important holiday of the Chinese people. 　　Officiating at the launch ceremony of the display were Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa of the HKSAR. 　　The fireworks display combined the low-level aerial fireworks and mines, along with aerial display shells of different levels, and lighted the sky aglow with a dazzling array of flashes and colors, while Chinese and Western background music and the crackling sounds of the fireworks producing a harmonious symphony. 　　This is the 18th year for Hong Kong to celebrate the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival with a fireworks display, symbolizing the expulsion of ghosts and ushering in a happy new year. 　　There were six barges positioned in the Victoria Harbor in two triangular groups of three, separated by a distance of 200 meters. This set-up ensured that smoke is displayed more efficiently, thus allowing the fireworks to be seen their most spectacular by more people than ever. About 500,000 audience watched the celebration. 　　* During the Spring Festival holidays, a great number of Macao residents were attracted to a rabbit exhibition held by the Macao government. 　　Exhibited were over 90 cultural relics of rabbit, supported by Shanxin Province and Guangzhou Municipality, and also a lot of live rabbits, which were welcomed the most by children. HomeNews 1999-02-18 Page2 Full Story in Chinese