Victoria Harbour blazes with colour as the city rings in the Year of the Horse with one of Asia’s great annual spectacles
Fire Over the Harbour
The fireworks that blazed above Victoria Harbour for the Lunar New Year of 2026 were, as they are every year, among the most spectacular in Asia. In the Year of the Horse, the display brought together thousands of residents and tourists along the waterfront, their upturned faces lit briefly gold and crimson by the bursts overhead, before the reflections died on the harbour’s dark water. The annual fireworks are one of Hong Kong’s most enduring traditions — a moment when the city seems, at least briefly, undivided in celebration.
What Lunar New Year Means for Hong Kong
The Lunar New Year holiday is the most significant on the Chinese calendar, and in Hong Kong it takes on a particular character shaped by the city’s unique blend of Cantonese tradition, colonial legacy, and global cosmopolitanism. Temple visits, lion dances, family dinners, the exchange of lai see red packets, and the fireworks over the harbour together form a tapestry that is recognisably Hong Kong and distinct from how the same festival is observed anywhere else. The city’s Lunar New Year celebrations have historically drawn visitors from across Asia and the world, and the 2026 programme — which included the international night parade in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Che Kung Temple rituals, and multiple nights of harbour fireworks — continued that tradition of spectacle and welcome.
The Harbour as a Symbol
Victoria Harbour is more than a body of water. It is the physical and psychological heart of Hong Kong. The skyline that frames it — Kowloon on one side, Hong Kong Island on the other — is one of the world’s great urban views, and the fireworks that erupt above it each Lunar New Year are a declaration: this city is still here, still alive, still worth celebrating. For the hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers who have emigrated in recent years to the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere, images of the harbour fireworks carry a particular emotional weight. Many watch via livestream, family video calls, or news broadcasts, connecting to a home that has changed substantially since they left.
Year of the Horse: What It Symbolises
In Chinese astrology, the Horse is a symbol of strength, perseverance, speed, and independence. Those are qualities that Hongkongers — whether those who remain in the city, those who have left, or those who advocate for the city’s freedoms from abroad — might reasonably claim as their own. The Year of the Horse began on February 17, 2026, and its qualities of endurance and momentum offer a symbolic framework for a city that has absorbed enormous disruption over the past several years and continues, in its resilient way, to function, to create, to celebrate, and to aspire.
Tourism and the Optics of Festivity
The Hong Kong government has invested heavily in marketing the Lunar New Year celebrations as a major tourism draw. The city welcomed nearly 50 million visitor trips in 2025, a 12 percent increase year-on-year, and the holiday period contributes significantly to that figure. Official messaging from Chief Executive John Lee’s administration has emphasised Hong Kong’s appeal as a destination that combines world-class urban infrastructure, deep cultural heritage, and a unique position at the intersection of China and the international world. That positioning is not wrong, but it is incomplete. The international community that once looked to Hong Kong as a beacon of rule of law, press freedom, and civic openness within the Chinese-speaking world has watched those qualities erode since the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020. Fireworks are beautiful, but they do not change the underlying architecture of freedom.
The People Who Make the Celebration Real
What matters most about the Lunar New Year fireworks is not the government promotion surrounding them, but the ordinary Hongkongers who gather to watch them. Families with children balanced on shoulders to see above the crowds. Elderly couples who have watched the harbour fireworks for decades. Young people for whom the city, despite everything, is still home. Their participation in the celebration is an act of love for a place, and a refusal to let political turbulence strip the joy from the traditions they grew up with. That quiet defiance — not political, not dramatic, but deeply human — is its own form of resilience. For historical context on Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year traditions, see the Discover Hong Kong guide. The symbolism of the Horse year is explored by the China Highlights zodiac resource. Hong Kong’s tourism statistics are published by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and the city’s changing political landscape is documented by Amnesty International.
Emily Chan
Investigative & Social Affairs Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: emily.chan@appledaily.uk
Emily Chan is an experienced investigative and social affairs journalist whose reporting centers on public accountability, social justice, and community-level impact. She received formal journalism training at a top-tier Chinese journalism school, where she specialized in investigative methods, data verification, and media ethics, preparing her for high-responsibility reporting roles.
Emily has published extensively with Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese newspapers, producing in-depth coverage on labor rights, education policy, civil society organizations, and government transparency. Her work is grounded in firsthand reporting, long-form interviews, and careful document review, ensuring factual accuracy and contextual depth.
Her newsroom experience spans both daily reporting and long-term investigations, giving her practical expertise in handling sensitive sources, corroborating claims, and navigating legal and ethical constraints. Emily is known among editors for her disciplined sourcing practices and clear, evidence-led writing style.
Emily’s authority stems from sustained professional experience rather than commentary alone. She has contributed to coverage during politically sensitive periods, maintaining accuracy and editorial independence under pressure. Her reporting consistently adheres to correction protocols and transparency standards.
At Apple Daily UK, Emily Chan continues to deliver reliable journalism that informs readers through verifiable facts, lived reporting experience, and a commitment to public-interest storytelling.
