Sydney February 2015 – 2016 (7 photos)
Once upon a time, a young Draco and his peaceful home were threatened and in self-defence, he defeated the invading armies of the first Emperor of China. With his dying breath, the Emperor promised that revenge would eventually be his. In secret, a great host was trained with one purpose, to exact revenge upon Draco.
And so a great host of Wabbits, highly skilled in the martial arts was sent to find Draco, and they challenged him in combat.
The battle raged long into the night, until finally…
Draco was victorious once again, banishing the wascally wawwior wabbits to whence they came.
Draco let out a roar.
And the people were happy and they celebrated long into the night.
But the battle was not over yet.
If only they knew the full fury of the Emperor, and what horror was yet to come …
…
This year for the Chinese New Year celebrations, 14 rabbit lanterns in silk waist coats appeared in the forecourt of Customs House, practicing Tai Chi. They were created by Claudia Chan Shaw.
Three illuminated wise monkeys appeared next to the Sydney Opera House, designed by Laurens Tan. The Sydney Opera House was bathed in red light and a fireworks display occurred on Chinese New Year’s Eve.
The iconic dragon lantern next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge was designed by Fan Dongwang. The bridge was also illuminated with red light.
The other 9 animals of the Chinese zodiac appeared in various locations around the city.
The Terracotta Army lanterns were a display from last year’s Chinese New Year festivities.
Etcetera Etcetera Etcetera 
Brilliant text to go along with the stunning images, Dragon. I take the monkeys beside the Opera House were shining blue, yellow and green… Perfectly timed to shoot the fireworks. Happy Year of the Monkey, and hope it’s a prosperous one for you 🙂
Yes, you can see the monkeys from a distance in my Opera House fireworks photo. There were 3 in the classic see, hear, speak no evil poses. Happy Chinese New Year to you too.
😆 Was an amazing story!!!
Thank you – told entirely as I imagined it. 🙂
I like your Wabbits. We had Chinese warriors in Zagreb too. The photo of the Opera with fireworks is breathtaking.
Thank you, Paula. I didn’t know there were going to be fireworks and I just happened to be in a good viewing spot. All those photos were handheld so I was lucky to get a couple of good ones. The Chinese New Year celebrations were particularly large and colourful this year; perhaps the start of a new celebratory tradition here.
You will miss those wabbits. You’ll see… 😉
Perhaps. They put on a good show. 🙂
By the way, congratulations on being “Discovered”. A well deserved feature.
Thanks! 😀
Very well deserved.
Again, I wish I were there. Thank you for sharing these fantastic photos.
Thank you. All 12 Chinese zodiac animals were portrayed as giant lanterns and placed around the city. Quite a cute sight. You’d have enjoyed it.
Awwwwwww man! Too cool!
The wabbits were particularly popular, not unexpectedly. 🙂
Wonderfully whimsical wabbits 🙂
Loving these large scale art displays in this area over the past few years.
Love this! What a beautiful way to celebrate a culture.
They were a nice touch. There is a whole program of food and entertainment events for Chinese New Year here at the moment. This celebration has suddenly become a big thing here.
Cute!
Very. 🙂
The after dark shots are outstanding!
Thank you. Mostly at iso 12600 handheld. I didn’t think I needed a tripod and the fireworks were an unexpected surprise. I was glad to get some good shots.
The Wood Dragon….triumphant once again! “Wabbit season…Duck season, FIRE!!”
I thought I’d show my face next to the Harbour Bridge, just this once. 😉 🙂
You had me there for a moment…
You wanted a dragon – I gave you a dragon. 🙂
Yeah but that was an empty gift my friend. An empty gift. 😉
But there was also a bridge and water in the background. 🙂
You’re a whascally dwagon.
Guilty, as charged.
Looks fun and colorful! 😀
Very much so. The rabbits were particularly fun. 🙂
They look it! 😀
🙂
I think I should move to Sydney. ☺
I think you’d enjoy it. 🙂
Yay for Dragon!! What a celebrations for CNY! I love this lantern show. 🙂
Thank you, Amy. The lanterns formed a route from the Harbour to Chinatown. Lots of other entertainment and food celebrations here too. 🙂
That is awesome! Maybe, I’ll get lucky to visit this beautiful city (and when Dragon is out of town 😀 )
Dragons are lucky creatures so perhaps you may visit one day when I am away. Or I may just be undercover – but you won’t know. 🙂
Undercover! Houston, we’ve got a problem…
🙂 🙂 🙂
These are great images; and I do love your whimsical words.
Thank you. The action happened exactly as I imagined it. 🙂
These are great. I knew you’d come up with something good for this challenge. It’s right up your alley.
Thank you. With all the large scale art around here recently, I do have a few up sleeve. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Wonderful shots Lignum, and such a story – great post.
Thank you, Karen. The celebrations seem to be a new festival this year. A large schedule of displays, entertainment and food events.
They are fabulous! As is your photography and story. Starting the day with a smile 🙂
Thank you very much. Glad to have helped get your day off on the right foot. 🙂
Magnificent artform, Lignum!
I just love those “wabbits!”
Thanks, Lisa. They were a lot of fun.
Very different from the typical Chinese New Year decorations, very creative!
Thanks. We’ll call them “modern chinese” decorations. 🙂
Wow fabulous images .. Loving your wabbits 😀
Thank you very much, Julie.
Such a cool installation! And your story is so well integrated with the photos. 🙂
Thank you. Those rabbits were irresistible. 🙂
Such personality! 🙂
🙂
Totally iwwesistable… I bet spell check was going crazy on this post LD… Loved how the people performed on cue for you to get the perfect life imitating art shots.
Thank you. People were posing with the wabbits constantly. 🙂 Yes, the spellchecker was in overload. 🙂
A great story to begin the New Year ~ a good jump on the New Year and the fireworks shot incredible. It will be a good year with your victory ~
Thank you kindly. Those rabbits did surprise me. 🙂
Love love love this post with your fabulous storytelling and beautiful images 😃😃
Aren’t they fantastic installations?! I’m so glad you were there so we could see them all. Awesome!
Thank you very much, Robyn. CNY celebrations really stepped up a gear here this year. The rabbits were a lot of fun.
They really did. Awesome!
Would love to have been there. Is it still on?
There’s a dragon boat race on the harbour this weekend, and then the lanterns disappear this Sunday/Monday.
Grumble. I’m going to be out over the B mountains. Thanks 😃
Shall have to live vicariously through your colourful, lively images.
Glad you are there!
Enjoy the Blue Mountains – that’s a beautiful place.
It is beautiful.. thanks 😃 ..and beyond!
So good Draco! I enjoyed seeing all 12 lanterns but you really bring the magic alive here. My favorite one is the “Life Imitates Art” image with the model and the bunny peering from the Customs House balcony. And oh those fireworks. I have a few photos from my tour of the lanterns that may make my Instagram, but none are as beautiful as yours. Wish I’d gotten to see the warriors last year. Magnificient.
Glad you saw them too. And glad you noticed the balcony bunny – I think a few people on location didn’t see him. I hope you took in some of the food too – that’s the best bit. 🙂
Flamboyant photo series handsomely illustrated!
Thank you.
Wow spectacular shots Lignum, Sydney sure loves a celebration!
We know how to do lights and fireworks. 🙂
I think the wascially wawwior wabbits are my favourite 😀 So glad to see some of your night shots too. I didn’t manage to head out when the Harbour Bridge and Opera House were illuminated red, but I knew a certain Dragon would be able to capture the magic for us all 😉
The wabbits very the most fun of them all. I really wanted to see them all illuminated. Glad you could be there via my photos.
How could I possibly bypass Wascally Wabbits? 🙂 🙂
I’m for stopping by. I assume you “wove the wabbits.” 🙂 🙂 🙂
Sure did! 🙂
🙂
They look so good.
🙂
The rabbits are truly cool and your story is a fine smile-producer, but your picture of the fireworks over the Opera House is just breathtaking. Excellent excellent shot.
Thank you so much. But living here, fireworks over the harbour gets a little bit, umm, common place. Just kidding. 🙂
What a lot of huge wabbits!!! 😀 And bursting with colour. I love the one with the little girl, reminds me of a favourite story girl called Alice. She’s even wearing a blue dress too – perfect shot!!
And the Terracotta Army have been reinvented, it’s like something out of Doctor Who. Would be quite scary if they suddenly started moving forward!! :o0
There is a strong hint of Alice there. Too bad the wabbits didn’t have pocket watches. 🙂
Yes, if the eyes of the Terracotta Army moved, I may have collapsed on the spot. 🙂
Love it! Once I saw a whole army of terracotta warriors walking down Nanjing Lu in Shanghai in warrior-like precision. I just happened to step out of the metro in time to witness it. Street art, real life warriors dressed in grey…. it was mesmerising but unfortunately I lost the phone with the photo in…. 😦
FYI, in a different timeline, SHU defeats QIN, with the help of a dragon ( from Yunnan)….. ( a novel im trying to revise, edit, write….)
Happy Monkey Year !
That would have been great to see. Too bad you lost the photos. Dragons get a bad name in Western culture. Asian culture gives me much greater respect. 🙂 🙂 🙂
It was amazing. I was mesmerised. It was truly like the Warriors had come to life, all dressed in grey, hairstyles just like the real ones, and faces as immobile as the real ones, making robotish style movements as they marched down Shanghai streets. Would have made a great pic for the ‘life versus art’ challenge.:)
It would have been incredibly impressive to see.
So many fun and cool cultural events in Sydney. Wish I could have seen it! Or really any of the other cultural events you cover!
Thank you. Australia is a multi cultural society which lends itself to a diverse array of festivals.
very interesting, I love reading and looking at photos about the Chinese New Year (it is not marked here, as there are no Chinese communities)… do you happen to know why is the color red so important? I can see even the army is red…
From wikipedia: Red, corresponding with fire, symbolizes good fortune and joy. Red is found everywhere during Chinese New Year and other holidays and family gatherings. A red envelope is a monetary gift which is given in Chinese society during holiday or special occasions. The red color of the packet symbolizes good luck. Red is strictly forbidden at funerals as it is a traditionally symbolic color of happiness. In modern China, red remains a very popular color and is affiliated with and used by the Communist government.
Here, almost every suburb has one or more Chinese grocery stores and restaurants. There are several chinese, japanese, thai, other asian, indian, greek, italian and turkish restaurants in my suburb and surrounding suburbs. There’s also a jewish synagogue, a greek church and many others. It’s very multi-cultural here.
I only searched for ‘Tai Chi’ and found your great photos of the rabbits! Now the rabbits are doing a snake. But what is your move?☺Looks like yoga to me☺☺
Thanks for the visit. Those rabbits were a big hit with the public. 🙂