Cities plan explosive start to Year of the Rat

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have just announced their plans for fireworks shows on Lunar New Year's Eve, which falls on this Friday, at seven locations: the Saigon River Tunnel in District 2, Vietnam’s tallest building Landmark 81 in Binh Thanh District, Dam Sen Theme Park in District 11, the Ethnic History-Culture Park in District 9, Ben Duoc Memorial Temple in Cu Chi District, Can Gio Stadium in Can Gio District, and the Nha Be District Administrative Center.

Hanoi will set off firecrackers at 30 venues to usher in Tet, or the Lunar New Year.

The city’s culture department has announced that six of the venues will shoot fireworks at high altitude, and the rest at lower heights.

The six high-altitude venues are the Sword Lake in Hoan Kiem District, Lac Long Quan Flower Garden in Tay Ho District, My Dinh Stadium in Nam Tu Liem District, Thong Nhat Park in Hai Ba Trung District, Van Quan Lake in Ha Dong District, and Son Tay Ancient Citadel in the eponymous district.

The 24 low-altitude venues are Ngoc Khanh Lake in Ba Dinh District, Den Lu Lake in Hoang Mai District, Vincom Mega Mall in Long Bien District, Hoang Cau Lake in Dong Da District, Cau Giay Park in Cau Giay District, Nhan Chinh Lake in Thanh Xuan District, Pheo Lake in Bac Tu Liem District, an urban area in Gia Lam District's Trau Quy Town, Me Linh District People's Committee, Ba Vi District's Quang Oai Stadium, and Thanh Tri District's sports and culture center.

Each fireworks display will last 15 minutes starting when the clock hits midnight on January 25, marking the beginning of the Lunar New Year.

The northern port city of Hai Phong will have eight fireworks shooting venues the Tam Bac Lake, the roof of the municipal Exhibition House in Hong Bang District, An Bien Lake in Le Chan District, the administrative centers in An Duong and Tien Lang Districts, the Cat Ba Wharf area in Cat Hai District, the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Thuy Nguyen District, and the Relics complex of Scholar Nguyen Binh Khiem in Vinh Bao District.

The central city of Da Nang had canceled fireworks displays for the Gregorian New Year, but plays them for Lunar New Year’s Eve at three shooting venues across the city: the Nguyen Van Troi Bridge between three districts - Hai Chau, Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son, and the administration centers of Lien Chieu and Hoa Vang Districts.

The central city is already renowned for its annual international fireworks festival that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Tet is Vietnam's biggest holiday and a major occasion for family reunions, with droves of migrant workers flocking home before Lunar New Year's Eve. The seven-day festival will start on Thursday.