Symphony of Lights – The World’s Largest Light Show (Hong Kong)

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By 8:00pm every evening, darkness has enveloped the Hong Kong sky and the bright lights and advertising of the skyscrapers reflect red, blue and golden stripes onto the waterway. The Star Ferry along with various pleasure boats cruise Victoria Harbour between the “canyon walls” set by the crammed skyline of towering buildings and The Peak.

Right on cue at 8:00pm, the manic shopping and business dealings seem to take a back-seat as Hong Kong launches a dazzling multi-media spectacular of modern music, building lights, searchlights and lasers using the skyline as their stage. Over forty modern buildings along Hong Kong Island and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon dance with shifting lights and shooting beams choreographed to the electric rhythms of a blend of Chinese and western music. Commentary reveals the quarter-hour show in five themes entitled Awakening, Energy, Heritage, Partnership and Celebration, showcasing the Chinese state of Hong Kong.

Though busy, the best vantage point is Kowloon’s promenade of the Avenue of the Stars, which celebrates over 100 Hong Kong film celebrities in a manner similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Embedded speakers along this walkway ensure that the sound part of the show is clearly enjoyed with the light show (named by the Guinness Book of Records as the “world’s largest permanent light show”).

Don’t miss this mesmerising travel wonder as a kaleidoscope of colours dazzle the sky and reflect through Victoria Harbour to the enchanting composition of Chinese and modern music.

Other Asian Posts
Happy Birthday, Peak Train (Hong Kong)
It’s All in the Stars (Jaipur, India)
A Royal Facade (Jaipur, India)
A Monument to Love (Taj Mahal, India)
From Dead Duck to Bird Heaven (Bharatpur, India)

Notes
Discover more from the show’s designer, LaserVision.

Photo of the Week - Tawny Frogmouth (Australia)

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The tawny frogmouth is a uniquely Australian bird, found superbly camouflaged in trees. They are often described as an owl though this is not technically true. Typically, someone needs to point them out for you to be aware they are there but once discovered they rarely move far from their favourite branch or tree. The bird in the photos lives not far from my home in Sydney. Their ability to stay still for hours and appear like a branch allows them to hunt by simply waiting for rats, mice, frogs and insects to wander past and seize them in their beak. Impressively, they mate for life and truly share the rearing of chicks both sharing sitting on the eggs and the feeding duties.

Top Ten Travel Wonders of Paris - Part 3 (Rank 1-3)

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Celebrated all over the world (including a cheesy reproduction in Las Vegas), Paris is one of the world's greatest cities. The top three travel wonders from among the Gallic treasures appear below. Start with Part One to get the entire story of Paris.

3. Notre Dame Cathedral


Immortalised in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the cathedral is considered one of the finest Gothic buildings in the world. Providing a stunning vista of Paris from its twin towers, it is a masterpiece of balance and symmetry. Perched on an island in the Seine in the very centre of Paris (and the origins of Paris), its interior boasts three stunning stained-glass rose windows while an army of ghoulish gargoyles look down from above. A square in front of Notre Dame represents the “zero point” for road distances in France.

2. Eiffel Tower


One of the world’s most recognisable buildings and the icon of Paris, the Eiffel Tower provides a great view of Paris from its top floor. For some time, the tallest building in the world (displacing the largest of Egypt’s pyramids), it stands tall among the flat, consistent architecture of the Parisian centre (buildings are limited to 20 metres in height). It is set in a beautiful park area and is complemented by the statues and fountains of the Trocadéro Gardens.

1. Louvre


A staggering collection of 35,000 art works, from Egyptian and Roman antiquities to the 1800s, is impossible to see or comprehend in one visit in this stunning building which moved from being the world's largest palace to the world's largest art museum. Running along the Seine for half a mile, a small brochure highlights the "must-see" items from among the multitude of rooms, including arguably the world's most famous painting in the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) and the world's most famous sculpture in the Venus de Milo. The entrance is covered by a striking glass pyramid.

Also worth checking are Napoleon's over-the-top tomb in the Hotel des Invalides, the rococo wonder of the Opera Garnier (check the ceiling out), the magnificent Rodin Museum (including The Thinker), the eerie Catacombs and the ornate tombs of the famous at Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Whatever your favorite Parisian travel wonder, this is a city with something for everyone. Stellar food and drink in the character-filled cafes, a rich cultural history, identifiable monuments from many ages, fiercely proud people, chaotic traffic and this overwhelming feeling that you are wandering in a dream, Paris is a city you'll always want to return to. This top ten only touches on the many pleasures and travel wonders that Paris offers.

Other Top Ten Travel Wonder Posts
Hidden Wonders of Paris
Rome
South America
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Top Ten Travel Wonders of Paris - Part 2 (Rank 4-7)

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Part One of this post discussed the first three travel wonders of the city of Paris. Here are the next four treasures in this eternal mesmerising city.

7. Georges Pompidou Centre (Beaubourg)


This startling building appears to be built inside-out with all its plumbing (green), electrical (yellow), air-conditioning (blue), ventilation (white) and lift system (red) all highly visible and illustrated in differing colours. It includes an excellent Museum of Modern Art along with space for all kinds of temporary exhibitions, shows and theatre. Outside, an array of street entertainers including mime artists tend to attract lunch-time crowds.

6. Arc de Triomphe and Champs Élysées


Commissioned by Napoleon to pay homage to his victories in battle, this triumphal arch is the home of France’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Eternal Flame. The arch is adorned with sculptured reliefs depicting scenes from epic battles. From the observation deck, you can view down the grand Parisian boulevard of the Champs Élysées and also witness the antics of French driving around the world’s most chaotic roundabout as the traffic from twelve radiating avenues congregate and circulate in a zone of vehicular madness.

5. Sacré Coeur and Montmartre (18th arrondissement)


Montmartre has a bohemian character attracting artists, painters and writers to this northern area of Paris. The centre of the public artist area is Place du Tertre with lively cafés and offers to draw you every few minutes. The famous sexy night shows of Moulin Rouge adorned with its famous red windmill take place every evening, while lively folk music can still be heard at Paris’ oldest cabaret bar, Le Lapin Agile. In contrast, the glorious white-washed basilica and glorious central dome of Sacré Coeur perches on the highpoint of Montmartre, offering a spectacular vista across all of Paris. Inside is a huge mosaic of Christ with outstretched arms.

4. Musée D’Orsay


Preserving the layout of its past as a railway station, this museum of art covering 1848 to 1914 is only twenty years old. Using numerous skylights, the museum bathes in natural diffused daylight. Boasting one of the finest collections of impressionist art and many works familiar to even the staunchest of non art-lovers of impressionist art, it contains works by artists including Monet, Manet, Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin, Matisse, Renoir, Pissarro and Van Gogh. Paris can be viewed through the old railway clock from within the museum and makes for many arty photographs.


Finally, discover the top three travel wonders of Paris.

Top Ten Travel Wonders of Paris - Part 1 (Rank 8-10)

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Paris probably boasts more familiar sights to the visitor than any city in the world. Travellers flood its magnificent churches, museums, art galleries, its grandest boulevard (Champs Élysées) and iconic Eiffel Tower. But my favourite city is much much more. The heart of Paris is built in its culture – lively parks, elegant cafés, superb cuisine, fascinating variety of neighbourhoods (arrondissements), eclectic backstreets, grand buildings, romantic Seine, the Metro and the proud fashionable Parisians (who are much friendlier in my experience than folklore would have you believe). Take time to people-watch in one of its parks or meander the streets and soak up this most enchanting city – the City of Light.

Paris has something for everyone but my top ten sights are as follows.

10. Sainte Chapelle


A staggering achievement for its time of 750 years ago with more stained glass than wall, the interior of this chapel is naturally lit in a dazzling array of colours, especially on bright sunny days. It is like walking into a kaleidoscope though security can be a bit exciting as the entrance is from the same courtyard as the French law courts (Palais de Justice).

9. Marais District (3rd/4th arrondissement)


The Marais district was built on marshland becoming the aristocratic district of Paris in the Middle Ages. Boasting the grandest square of all in the rose-pink Place des Vosges, many of its grand buildings now house superb and unusual collections and museums, including the excellent Picasso Museum (paintings and sculptures paid to the government as death taxes). Trendy cafés and expensive gift shops also line the main boulevards of these central Parisian suburbs.

8. Latin Quarter (5th arrondissement)


Home of Paris’s most famous university, the Sorbonne (one of the world’s oldest universities started around 750 years ago), this area was named because the educated conversation in past times all took place in Latin. Today, it is home to cafés, superb bookshops (including the extraordinary Shakespeare and Company with its wall to wall books and where you can stay for the night) and interesting eateries. Get off the main streets of Rue Mouffetard and Boulevarde St Michel and enjoy the quieter, more atmospheric back streets. The Panthéon, loosely modelled on its Roman namesake, hosts the tombs of the Curies, authors Voltaire, Dumas and Hugo, and Louis Braille (who died in his early 40s) among other French luminaries. The Jardin du Luxembourg is a favourite park to walk, relax and sunbake while the Cluny Museum holds a celebrated collection of medieval artworks and tapestries.

Part Two highlights the next four travel wonders of Paris.

Other Top Ten Travel Wonder Posts
Rome
South America
Africa
Wildlife