Pack the picnic basket and head on down to a sea of fireworks shows over the next two weeks, writes Xu Wei It's the season for fireworks and laser-light shows with three major events for the Formula One China Grand Prix and Shanghai Tourism Festival.
On Sunday at the center of the Xintiandi lake, a stunning laser show gets under way with giant three-dimensional screen. The 10-minute show involves an exciting performance featuring the British American Racing Team. And if you want to get close to cars and the action, there's also the real thing on display. Before Sunday there's plenty of night sky action with two performances, featuring a mixture of laser beams, music and fireworks, at Zhabei District's Daning Lingshi Park. Pyrotechnists from Jiangxi Province are in charge of the first show titled ``Rapture'' tomorrow night. They have previously presented fireworks performances for the 2001 Shanghai Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference and National Day celebrations. The climax will be a giant 300-meter-long waterfall of fireworks, a floating fireworks ship and commentary from Xue Xixiang, a noted contemporary poet. On Sunday night, there's the Japanese-style show ``Fiesta of Fire.'' ``This time the audience can closely watch the performance from only 200 meters away,'' says Pan Hongmei, an official with the Zhabei District Tourism Bureau. ``We want to offer people an intimate experience for this fireworks show.'' From September 30 to October 6, settle down along the lake at Century Park for the magnificent international fireworks shows for the 5th Shanghai International Music Fireworks Festival -- a traditional event for the tourism festival. The fireworks are from Argentina, Britain and Switzerland. Argentine designer, Gaston Gallo, presents ``Bridge of Tango'' with hot music to warm the night. ``With colorful bursting fireworks and unrestrained tango energy, the audience is definitely in for a fresh and exciting night,'' says Gallo. On October 3, Toni Bussmann from Swiss Bugano Feuerwerke will dazzle the night sky with ``Dream of Star'' in Pudong, and on October 6 it's Britain's turn with ``East Meets West'' for the closing ceremony of the Shanghai Tourism Festival. English pyrotechnist, Wilf Scott, who won the Monaco International Fireworks Competition in 2001, will coordinate the evening. Before each show, a 20-minute Chinese-style fireworks show with the theme of ``Oriental Legend'' will be staged, accompanied by Chinese folk songs. ``It's both a visual and spiritual treat as colorful fireworks and dreamy music merge perfectly,'' says Sun Xiaoyun, an official with Century Park. Laser Show at Xintiandi Date: through September 26, 8pm, 8:45pm, 9:30pm, 10:15pm Venue: Taiping Lake of Xintiandi, by Huangpi Rd S. and Hubin Rd Tel: 6386-1818 Musical Laser and Fireworks Show Date: September 24, 26, 8pm Venue: Daning Lingshi Park, 288 Guangzhong Rd W. Tickets: 50-150 yuan Tel: 6380-5390, 6652-3698 International Music Fireworks Date: September 30, October 3, 6, 7:30pm Venue: Century Park, 1001 Jinxiu Rd, Pudong Tickets: 70-180 yuan Tel: 3876-0588